The Desolate Future
by SakuraMoriChan
Summary: America tests out a time machine that he and Japan created together. But when he arrives in the distant future, it turns out to be very different from what he would have expected... My first fanfiction!
1. Chapter 1

_So this is my first ever fanfiction _^0^ _It might be a bit boring at first but it should get better _XD_ I wouldn't mind some criticism but please don't be too harsh _^^' _I_ _would like to know how I could improve though _:) _Thank you for taking the time to read my story _XD

America sighed impatiently, taking another bite out of his hamburger. What was taking Japan so long? He had said that he was only doing a few tests.

He glanced at some of the paintings Japan kept around his home. It all seemed pretty boring, just like the stuff England kept at his home.

America's eyes lit up as an idea came to him. Japan had said they shouldn't tell anyone yet since someone could steal it, or their invention might not work at all, but surely it'd be fine if he only told England? He'd always been into that timey wimey...stuff.

Plus he would have something to brag to him about.

He quickly dialed the number on his cell phone, trying to ignore the fact that he had seemed to of memorised it. After a couple of rings a very tired voice answered.

"What the hell do you want?" England snapped

America looked down at his watch. It was around midday. Since he was at Japan's house that would of meant it was around 3:AM England's home.

Oops.

"Hiya, Iggy" America said brightly (Choosing to ignore any complaints the Brit made at his nickname) "Me and Japan have been working on something super cool! Even you're going to be impressed with this!" He finished this sentence with his famous laugh. "Sure, Japan did a lot of the technical stuff but it was so my idea, so-"

"Look, America" England cut in. "Can't this wait till tomorrow?" he asked in an exasperated tone. "It's the middle of the night and I have a meeting in the morning. We can talk later if it's that important, alright?

"Wait, wait don't hang up! And it _is_ really important it's a-"

The line went dead

"Time machine..." America finished, a little late. He sighed again, looking at his phone. He wanted to hang out with England more often, but England always seemed annoyed with him for some reason. America smiled to himself. Even England will think he's amazing when he reveals that he helped build an actual working time machine! Although, knowing him, he'll still find _something _to complain about.

America looked at his phone sadly before placing it on the table and standing up. He might as well see how Japan was doing.

"Japaaaaaan! Are you done yet?" America called as he walked into the Japanese style garden.

Japan turned away from what he was working on and smiled at the American.

"Ah, America-san" Japan said warmly. "I'm nearly finished. It should only take a few more minutes." He smiled again.

America blinked. Things must be going really well if Japan was acting so happy!

The two of them had been working on their project for nearly a year. America had first gotten the idea when he saw a TV show at England's house (something about a blue box?) and immediately went to Japan about it. Japan had seemed skeptical at first but eventually agreed to help America. As the months went by they made more and more positive results until even Japan had to admit that it seemed like their project was going to become a reality.

"That should do it" Japan said, taking a step back from the almost capsule like machine that seemed very out of place in his garden.

"Seriously?" America asked, running next to the Japanese man. "You mean it's actually finished?" America couldn't believe it. After months of hard work, they were finally going to make history.

"It should be" Japan said. His eyes suddenly started shinning "I've also added a few extra features for safety. For example, the door automatically opens in the event of a power failure and-"

"Japan" America interupted him before he could go into a long, and proberly boring, speech. "Does it travel through time or not?"

"...It should" Japan said hesitantly. "But we still need to test it and-"

"So let's test it now!" America said excitedly, running towards the machine.

"What? America-san, wait! It might not be safe, we should-"

"Aw, come on! You've done like a million safety tests on this thing! I just want see if it works."

Japan sighed."Alright, America-san...but...please be careful." He sometimes wondered why he even bothered arguing with America. If he did then America would just make that dejected puppy face until he got what he wanted. Japan wasn't sure what America did if that method failed, he never got that far.

"YES!" America cried happily. He opened the door to the machine, practically jumped inside.

"But, America" Japan said. He was already starting to regreat his decision. "Only try to go forward a few minutes. And don't do anything dangerous. It's a very delicate machine and I don't know how easily it can break."

"Okay, okay" America grabbed the door handle. "Anything else?"

"Just...please be careful"

"What are you, my mom?" America laughed. "I'm always careful, I'm the hero! He grinned before shutting the door.

Japan watched the machine anxiously, trying not to list the many things that might go wrong in his head.

America looked around the cramped capsule. Since there was a chair right in the middle there was hardly any room to stand. There was a small insition in the wall were he had to type how many minutes, hours, days or years he wanted to go forward or back.

"I should proberly just go forward about 10 minutes...Japan would just worry if I'm too long..." He typed this into the machine. His hand hovered over the "start" button.

"Why am I hesitating?" He murmured "Nothing can go wrong!"

He sat down in the chair. He was just excited or something. He obviously wasn't scared. Heros don't get scared.

America pulled out a can of soda, not really wondering where he got it from. He just needed to calm down. He pulled the ring.

He immediately wished he hadn't

The liquid sprayed all over the controls

"Oh, hell!" America yelled. The numbers on the year section of the insition started rising rapidly. "Double hell! He jumped up and started pressing buttons randomly, trying to fix whatever he had done.

Unfortunately, he accidently pressed the "start" button.

The machine started shaking rapidly, knocking the American over before he had time to call out. He briefly wondered what was happening before a blinding light filled the capsule...

The machine crashed into the earth, causing a small expolsion of dust and dirt. The flickering lights on the capsule blinked one last time before turning of completely.

The door swung open and a very motion sick American tumbled out. He fell onto his knees, trying very hard to keep the hamburger he had previously eaten where it belonged.

"Where a I...?" America asked. He looked around him for any signs of what time he could possibly be in.

He had to look again.

The world in front of him was dry and desolate. There were no buildings or even any plants in sight. A hot wind drifted across the land, snapping America out of his intial shock and allowing him to say the first words that came to mind.

"What the hell!?" He still couldn't understand what was infront of him. What could of happened here?

He turned back to the machine. He had to get back to his own time.

"Wha...?" America stared at the once brightly lit capsule. All the buttons were now dull and lifeless. He pressed the start button hopefully, even though he knew that nothing would happen

He was right.

America looked around again. He was stuck in some kind of wasteland, with a broken time machine and no sign of civilisation.

He was stranded.

"...Shit"

_Okay...I can't help but think that the end of the chapter seems a bit...rushed? I'll try to improve my writing in future chapters...Please review on what you thought _:)


	2. Chapter 2

_Okay, there SHOULD of been lines separating paragraphs in the first chapter but deleted them for some reason _o_O_ So if a scene changed randomly and you didn't know why, it's because there should of been a line there. So...anyway...chapter two! _XD

* * *

><p>America had gone from shocked to depressed and was now just plain annoyed. What kind of time machine breaks after the first time you use it? Sure, he spilt a <em>little <em>soda on it. That shouldn't be enough to make it stop working completely!

He groaned and sat down heavily next to the stupid piece of junk. He didn't even have his cell phone with him; he had left it at Japan's house. Not that he thought he could have called anyone; America just wanted to play some of his games on it to stop him from dying of boredom. Before the charge ran out that is. Then he really _would_ die of boredom.

There was absolutely nothing there. Except for a few cracks in the ground. Maybe he could count them before he's reduced to inventing his own imaginary friends like England.

He missed England. He missed everyone. And he was never going to see them, or anything actually _living_ again. He might as well-

He blinked. He could see something in the distance. Something moving.

"I must be going crazy" America sighed. He'd only been there for 10 minutes. It had to be a record.

The figure was moving slowly. As it got closer, America could tell that they seemed to be wearing some kind of cloak.

And, most importantly, they seemed human.

America stood up. If this person was real, and not just his deluded imagination, then he might as well see if they could help him with his time machine. It _was_ the future after all. They should have figured this stuff out _years_ ago.

"Hey! Over here!" he yelled, waving his arms frantically. The figure's head jerked towards America. But instead of going to the American, or even waving back, the person turned and ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction.

_What the hell? _America thought before chasing after them.

Even though they were already far away from America, they weren't very fast. America easily started to close in on the stranger.

"Why are you running?" He called when he was confident that they weren't going to get away. The person looked back in surprise but didn't answer. Instead they just gave a desperate attempt to run faster. America couldn't see them properly, as they had pulled the hood of their clock up when they had started running, but there was something about the person's eyes that seemed familiar...

A loud crack filled the empty space, stopping America in his tracks. The stranger slowed down slightly and looked back again but didn't stop running.

America looked down at his feet. The earth suddenly seemed a lot frailer.

He slowly took another step forward, but this single movement brought a million more crevices into the land.

"Oh, shi-" America couldn't finish his sentence as at that moment the ground beneath his feet collapsed. America yelped as his world filled with darkness...

* * *

><p>America groaned as he drifted back into consciousness. He opened his eyes slowly, allowing them to adjust to the gloom.<p>

He had no idea where he was.

That's when he realised two things.

1: His arms were bound behind his back.

2: He wasn't alone.

Two cloaked figures stood a little bit away from the American, their hoods pulled down below their eyes, stopping America from seeing their full faces. They were talking to each other quietly, not noticing that America was now awake. Although the person who had been out in the wastelands cloak was black, their cloaks were a dirty brown colour.

"W...what's going on?" America said, trying to pull apart the ropes that held his arms together.

The two hooded figures jumped away from each other in surprise at the sound of America's voice.

"So you're awake" The first one said coldly. America paled as he saw the one who had spoken pull out something from his cloak that could only be described as a gun.

The person walked towards him, slowly raising the gun-like object.

"Who are you?" The second one asked, his voice slightly less harsh then the other one.

America didn't say anything. He was too busy staring at the gun.

"Answer the question!" The first one snapped, brandishing the gun closer to America's forehead.

"A-America! My name's America!" America stammered, his voice coming out higher than he had meant it to.

"Alright, "America", where are you from?" the calmer one asked.

"Um...America?"

If it wasn't for the hood, America could have sworn that the first one was glaring at him.

"Do you think this is funny?" The one with the gun asked, his voice suddenly sounding a lot more dangerous.

"N-no I don't" People might have usually thought that the American was stupid, but even he knew that it was a bad idea to upset a man pointing a gun at you.

The first one stood up and went to their partner.

"What do you think we should do with him?" He asked, not looking away from America.

"He could be a spy; we should probably have him killed" The second one said.

America decided that he didn't like the calm one anymore.

* * *

><p><em>I know I shouldn't leave the story there but I wanted to update this as soon as possible <em>XD _Please review! It makes me happy to know that people actually read this _XD


	3. Chapter 3

_New chapter _XD_ I know I kind of left it on a small cliffhanger last time but I'll probably be doing that a lot in future chapters _XD _I was surprised that people actually read this, since there are thousands of (probably much better) stories on this website _XD_ It's like putting a drop of water in the ocean _XD _Okay, I'm done talking now _^^'

* * *

><p>"You can't just <em>kill<em> me!" America protested, struggling against his bounds.

"We're sorry" The second one said quietly. Judging by the first figures smirk he wasn't very sorry. "But we cannot allow The Leader to find us here- not now."

"The Leader?" America asked, confused. "Who's-"

"That's enough" A different voice said. America looked up in surprise at the new figure who walked in. Just like the other two, his hood was pulled down below his eyes. But this person's cloak was black, the same colour as the person America had seen in the wasteland.

The first person suddenly didn't seem as smug as before. "O-oh, you're- I mean, we were were going to-"

"I know" The black cloaked figure cut in."But you don't need to kill him"

"What? But-"

"I'll take care of him" He finished coldly. America could feel the blood drain from his face.

The two cloaked figures nodded and nervously left the room.

America was left alone with the black cloaked figure.

"You can't do this!" America blurted. "I'm not a spy or whatever. I haven't done anything wrong!"

The person watched the American carefully for a few seconds- before pulling out a small but sharp knife.

_He- he's going to-_ America struggled uselessly against the ropes. The man walked slowly towards him, as if he had all the time in the world.

"You can't do this!" America yelled again. "Look, I'm not from here, I'm not even from this time! You can't-"

The man placed his hand on America's shoulder. "I know" He said quietly- before cutting the ropes that tied the American's arms together.

It took a moment for America to realise what had just happened.

"You...you're letting me go me?" He asked, stunned.

"What did you think I was going to do?" He asked in a way that made the American think he was most likely teasing him.

America decided to ignore this. "But, why...?"

"It's not safe for you here" He said simply.

"Yeah, I figured that out about 5 minutes ago" America replied sarcastically.

The cloaked man pulled the American to his feet. "You need to leave" He said firmly. "How did you get here?"

"Huh...?"

"How did you get to this time?" The man said, a bit more urgently.

"Oh! Well, I have a time machine...it kind of broke though...Wait, did you say that you knew I was from the past? How-"

"There's no time" He snapped. "And anyway, I think I know someone who can fix it." He raised his voice slightly. "You've been listening, haven't you?"

A smaller figure entered the room uncertainly. America blinked. There was no doubting it, this was the same person he had seen in the wasteland.

"So, do you think you can fix it?" The man asked.

"...Probably, it depends how damaged it is" The newest person said quietly.

America wondered to himself how this person could possibly fix it. Only him and Japan knew how it worked!

The man turned to America "Let's go" He said, grabbing the American's wrist.

"Huh? Where...?"

"Your time machine. I told you, you need to get back to your own time"

* * *

><p>The two ran in silence, the hooded man leading the way. The smaller man had said something about "getting the necessary tools" and that he'd meet them there.<p>

Eventually they made it to the hole that America had fallen through.

("The ground was already weak and couldn't support your extra weight"

"Wait, did you just say I was fat?"

"...Whatever gave you that impression?")

They climbed out of the opening and walked in the direction of where the time machine had crashed.

"So we just have to wait for the other guy to come and fix it, right?" America asked when the familar capsule shape came into view.

"Right, I just hope he won't be too long" The slightly smaller man said, taking an anxious look towards the sky.

"Hey, I was wondering, why are you helping me?" America asked what he had been wondering ever since the man had freed him.

"...I'm a friend, let's just leave it at that" He said, obviously wanting to close the subject.

But America didn't.

"But why? Everyone I've met so far has either ran away from me or tried to kill me? Why are you helping me?

"Look, America-"

"Also, how did you know I was from the past? And-" His eyes widened as he realised what the person had just said. "And how do you know my name? I never told you it..."

The man paused as he realised his mistake. "I...I heard you talking to those other two and-"

"Come on! Do you really think I'm going to believe that?"

"Why can't you just except that I'm trying to help you, idiot?"

America stared at the man in front of him. "Actually, you don't have to tell me who you are, I think I've already figured it out." He took a step closer to the mysterious man.

"What are you-?"

America pulled down the hood that had been hiding the main features of the man's face, to reveal messy blond hair and a pair of emerald green eyes.

"Tell me what's going on, England".

* * *

><p>The person in front of him was definitely England. His hair was dirty and his eyes seemed older, but there was no mistaking those eyebrows.<p>

"I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore" England sighed.

"England, what happened here?" America asked, trying to hide the fact that he was actually happy to see someone he knew.

"What do you mean?"

America gestured around him "I mean what happened to make the world...well...like this. It's a complete wasteland!"

England sighed again and continued to walk to the time machine. America briefly wondered if he had even heard the question before going after him. After a few seconds, England spoke again.

"Everyone went to war" He said emotionlessly.

"Huh...?"

"A nuclear war. Everyone was involved, but by the time it actually ended it was too late. The damage had already been done" England said sadly. It was obviously wasn't a good subject for him.

America let this new information sink in as he looked around him. He knew that some countries had come close to starting a nuclear war but he had never thought it would actually happen.

A thought suddenly occurred to the American.

"Hey, England?"

"Yes?"

"If this is some post-nuclear war future, then...are there any zombies?" America asked excited.

"Wait, what?"

"Zombies! 'Cause in video games I've played, there're _always_ zombie in a nuclear war future!" America went on, his eyes shining.

"Only you would be happy at the idea of _zombies_" England scoffed. "Of course not! How can you be so stupid-" He stopped suddenly.

"England?" America asked, worried about his sudden silence. "Iggy?"

"Heh..." England suddenly fell to his knees, laughing uncontrollably.

"England!" America jumped back, startled by the abrupt change in his personality.

"Y-you! You're so bloody stupid! Oh God, I had nearly forgotten, you-" He managed to splutter before laughing hysterically again.

_He's lost it _America thought sadly. _He's completely lost it._

The laugher countinued for a few more minutes before England noticed the American's worried gaze.

"S-sorry" He said after he had calmed down slightly. "It's been a long time, I nearly forgot how much of an idiot you can be sometimes" He chuckled before standing up.

_A long time? _America thought. _How long-_

"Let's go" England's voice cut into America's thoughts. "We need to wait for my friend to come so that he can fix your time machine"

"Your friend...so if you're England, then he must be..."

"You're probably right, but you'll find out for sure soon".

* * *

><p><em>Why do I keep leaving it at awkward places! <em>T-T _All well...Since I only uploaded the last chapter yesterday I think this update is pretty quick for me_ XD_ I wonder how many of you can guess who the the other black hooded person is? _XD _Anyway, please review and tell me what you think! _XD


	4. Chapter 4

_In this chapter we get to find out a bit more about the future _^0^_ I think I'm getting faster at writing XD All the positive reviews I'm getting really make me happy and inspire me to keep going XD_

* * *

><p>America leaned against the machine. He was nervous. What if they couldn't fix it? What if he was going to be stuck there forever? He shook his head. He couldn't think like that.<p>

England, who was pacing around just a little bit away, also seemed pretty anxious but for a different reason. He would occasionally look at the sky uneasily, as if he was expecting something to happen.

When a hooded figure came running into view, holding what looked like a very dusty tool box, England visibly relaxed.

"I have everything I should need, although it depends how damaged the machine is..." The person called when he was close enough. He paused. "Oh, England-san, your hood-"

"It's fine, Japan" England said calmly.

The man nodded slightly and pulled down his hood.

"It's good to see you again, America-san" Japan said to the American, smiling slightly.

"If it's that good to see me then why did you run away from me before?" "America asked, confused.

Japan's eyes widened "Oh, w-well...it's been a long time so I didn't reconise you at first..." He said sheepishly.

America looked at Japan carefully. It was almost like he was hiding something...But what would Japan have to hide?

"Alright, Japan" He grinned.

Japan seemed a bit relieved. He went towards the machine and started examining it.

"Hey, I've been wondering, what's with the cloaks?" America asked suddenly.

"The cloaks...?" England looked at America confusedly.

"Yeah, 'cause you two have black cloaks but the other two I saw had brown cloaks, why's that?"

"Oh, well the people in brown cloaks are normal humans, but the ones in black cloaks are countries, like us".

"I get it" America said brightly.

"But it's also a way to hide our identities" Japan spoke up from where he had started working. "We need to hide ourselves from The Leader, and-"

If America had been watching, he would of seen England glare at Japan. But he had heard enough.

"Who's The Leader? Those other two mentioned him before..."

Japan and England looked uncertainly at each other.

England sighed. "When the war first ended, most of the people and countries of the world came together, so that everyone could get food and water and build shelter. Together, everyone built a sort of city. One person rose to power, he was refered to as The Leader."

Japan joined in "However, because of the long war, and the sudden gain in power, The Leader's mind cracked. He became paranoid, he began to kill anyone who he believed was plotting against him. He forbid anyone from ever leaving his city. "

"But one day, most of us escaped. We got as far away from that place as possible. Then we began to build a new home underground" England finished.

"Wow" America said. "But that underground place was _huge_. It must of taken a hundred years to finish it!"

"Two hundred, actually" Japan said. "It was only meant to be a temporary home at first. Somewhere where we could plan in secret."

"Plan?"

"There are still a lot of humans, and even a few countries still at that city" England explained. "We were hoping that we could try to overthrow The Leader and free those people".

"But, some of the others don't think it would be enough to just overthrow him" Japan looked down at his feet. "Some of them think that he's too dangerous and that it would be better to...to kill him." Japan said quietly. England looked away from both of them.

America blinked. What had made them so depressed?

"I should get back to work on the time machine" Japan said suddenly. " From what I can tell he landing knocked a few important pieces out of place, but I should be able to put them back".

"That's great!" America beamed.

Japan frowned. "The controls also seem to be a bit sticky for some reason. Did someone spill something or-?

"No!" America said quickly.

England looked at him questionably but said nothing.

* * *

><p>An hour passed slowly. America watched Japan who had his full attention on the machine. He thought about starting a conversation with the Japanese man but decided that might not be a good idea judging by what he was doing. England was stood a little bit away from them, looking around cautiously.<p>

_What's wrong with him? _America thought, confused. _There's nothing out here!_

That's when he felt it. A pair of eyes staring at him intently.

America spun around wildly, trying to find this new person.

There was no one else there.

"Um...England?" He said nervously. The feeling was really starting to freak him out.

England's head snapped up, immediately hearing the anxious tone in the American's voice. "What's wrong, America?"

As sudden as it had come, the sensation of being watched faded away.

"Um...nothing, I guess..."

England regarded America before sighing and going back to whatever it was he had been doing.

"Finished!" Japan cried happily.

"What, it's done?" America said, amazed.

"Yes, and I've put in the necessary information to take you back to your own time, all you have to do is press the button" He smiled.

"Thanks, Japan!" America tackle hugged the Japanese man. Japan wheezed as all air was knocked out of him.

"Alright, America" England said. "Let go of Japan before you suffocate him."

America remembered his strength and released the smaller man. "Sorry about that" he said sheepishly.

"It's fine, America-san" Japan gasped.

"We should go" England said to Japan. "And, America..."

"England?"

"...Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

America was about to protest, but then he noticed the sad look in England's eyes.

"Hey, I'm the hero! I never do anything stupid!" He grinned. England rolled his eyes and began to walk back to the hole that America had first fallen through. Japan mumbled a short goodbye and went after him. America went inside the machine and closed the door.

"All right, let's go home" He said happily. Although, maybe he should say goodbye to future England and future Japan first?

No. He had to go home. Before something else happened.

_You can't..._

America yelped at the sudden voice. Where was it coming from?

_You have to stay..._

America thought about it. Why had England seemed so sad when he had left? Maybe he just didn't like goodbyes?

And then there was that whole "overthrow The Leader thing". It had been _two hundered_ _years_ since they left and they hadn't done anything. Maybe they just need some help?

America smiled. England had seemed pretty inconvinced when he had said he was a hero. If he helped him defeat this evil leader guy then he could finally prove it to him!

And this _was_ a time machine. By the time he got back to his actual time it would only of been around 10 minutes!

"I'll go help them then!" He said to no one in particular. America ran out of the machine, towards where England and Japan had gone.

* * *

><p>A figure watched the American run excitingly away. He smiled.<p>

"Prehaps the game will be more interesting this time" he chuckled to himself before vanishing from sight.

* * *

><p>America found the hole easily. He jumped down, stumbling slightly, and paused to let his eyes adjust to the gloom.<p>

"I hope they haven't gone too far" America said quietly "I don't wanna get lost in this place!"

America stiffened. The sensation was back. The feeling of being watched.

"Who's there?" He called, trying hard to not show that he was kind of scared.

A small growl entered the silence. America blinked to see a large dog-like creature come into view.

"Um...nice doggy?" He said hopefully. The thing growled at him again and lunged at the American.

A loud gunshot rang out. The creature fell, dying instantly.

America turned around to see England, holding the same type of gun-like object the other two earlier had.

"Are you okay?" He asked America.

"Y-yeah" He stammered. America looked down at the thing. "What is that?" he asked.

"One of The Leader's "pets". He creates them and sends them out here to look for us" England explained. He glared at America "Why are you here? Didn't I just tell you not to do anything stupid?"

America grinned. "I wanted to help you defeat this evil Leader guy!"

England looked taken back by America's answer. "You can't!" He finally said. "It's dangerous here, you need to go home right now!"

"Look, if this is about those dog monsters, then just give me one of those gun things" America said simply, pointing to the object England was holding.

"Like I would let you have one of these" England protested, as if he found the very idea stupid.

"Then how do you expect me to protect myself?"

"You're going to get yourself killed, just go home!"

America laughed "No way, Iggy!"

England groaned and mumbled a few insults.

"Hey, England?"

"What now?"

"Where am I?" America asked

"You're underground in the middle of a wasteland" England said.

"No, not like that. I mean, this is the future right? So where's my future self?"

England paled slightly.

"I have to be somewhere, right?"

"America, if you want to help us then fine, but-"

"Don't change the subject! I want to know where I am". America demanded.

England looked away from him.

"England...I'm not...I'm not _dead_ am I?"

England hesitated before answering. "...No, you're not dead".

"Then...what?" Another thought came to the American "Do I work for The Leader or something?"

"...No...you don't work for him..."

"...Then...?" America looked into England's now emotionless eyes. His own widened as he thought of another possibility. "...No...don't tell me..."

"America...you _are_ The Leader".

* * *

><p><em>*Dramatic music* America's the evil overlord of the future! XD I know this is a kind of common plot though ^^' If you have a similar story <em>please_ don't kill me 'cause I promise I'm not stealing anyone's idea :) Please review XD I won't always get to update that fast 'cause of school and stuff, but the holidays are in a few days so i should get more time then XD_


	5. Chapter 5

_I'm glad that eveyone's taking the America=Leader thing so well XD Some of you said you knew and others said they didn't but nevermind XD No one seems to be wondering about the voice that stopped America or the random feeling of being watched...or maybe you are, I don't know XD_

* * *

><p>America said nothing for the next few seconds, allowing what he had just been told to sink in.<p>

"I...I'm The Leader? I'm some insane, evil overlord?" He eventually said, his voice barely a whisper.

England nodded, trying not to look the American in the eye.

"But...but that makes no sense! I'm _nothing _like what you told me about him!" America cried. "There's just no way!"

"I know...this is why I wanted you to go home..." England sighed.

America stared at England. "And you were just going to let me go? So that I could go back and turn into some evil guy?" America grabbed England's shoulders. "Why? You knew about what was going to happen. Why would you just make me go back when you knew?" America's voice was getting close to hysterical. He shook England slightly. "Why?" he yelled again.

A new emotion in England's once blank eyes -fear?- made America let go of the Brit.

"I...sorry...I just-" America sat down heavily. "There's just no way..." he said desperatly.

England looked down at the American sadly before kneeling down next to him. "When the war ended, you were the one with the most money and power left. You were the one everyone turned to."

"But...why did I...?"

"It had been a long war. By the end of it you had taken a lot of damage and many of your population was lost" England smiled sympathetically. "Everyone was a little emotionally unstable at the end of it. You were made into The Leader before you had a chance to fully recover. This could of happened to anyone in your position" He explained gently.

"That's why Japan ran away from me. He thought I was The Leader" America said slowly.

"It wouldn't just be him. If someone else mistook you for The Leader, then..."

"They'd kill me?" America asked.

England nodded grimly. "Do you see why I wanted you to leave now? It's not safe for you here." He stood up. "Come on, you need to go. And this time, I'm making sure that you actually leave" He said firmly.

America looked up at England, his eyes distant, before suddenly breaking into a grin. "What? You think I'm actually leaving?" He jumped up next to England. "I told you right? I'm helping you defeat The Leader."

* * *

><p>A man sighed and leaned back in his chair. He was bored. Again. Unfortunately, he found that this happened a lot.<p>

"What to do...?" He mused quietly. He sighed again. "Why does it always take so long?" He complained to the surrounding silence.

Maybe he should just kill that American guy now. It's not like he'd make it very far. They never did.

He smiled. _Soon_ he thought. After all, what fun is there in killing someone if they haven't been emotionally broken yet?

* * *

><p>England remained speechless for a good 5 minutes. "You...why...?" was all he seemed to be able to say.<p>

"England?" America asked. He shook the Brit. "Come on Iggy, snap out of it!"

Suddenly England found his voice. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you, you _idiot_? He yelled.

America blinked. "I told you! I'm helping you!" he protested.

"But he's _you_! Why would you want to help us defeat _yourself_? You looked like you were going to have a mental breakdown over the whole thing a few seconds ago!"

"Oh, I got over that" America smiled. "You all obviously need some help with this. And anyway, when I do go home I can just stop the war from happening, so then I won't turn into some evil psycho guy! I get to save the future in two ways!" He laughed.

"You're already a psycho" England muttered.

"Huh...?"

"That's a terrible idea!" England shouted. "What if you get hurt? What if someone finds out who you are? What if-"

"It'll be fine!" America insisted. "I've got you and Japan to watch out for me"

England glared at him. "Fine" he said, defeated. "But don't blame me when you end up getting yourself killed.

"I knew you'd give in Iggy!" America grinned.

"Shut up!"

* * *

><p>"You'll need this" England said, passing the American a brown cloak.<p>

"What for?" America asked confused.

After making sure there was no one around, England had taken America to a different room. Cloaks were strewn across the floor, mainly brown, but a few black ones too.

"If you really want to help us then you're going to have to hide your identity" England explained, slightly annoyed.

"But you said countries get the black cloaks."

"It'd be easier if you try to pass yourself off as a normal human. I don't want to have to explain why we suddenly have a new country."

"I guess that makes sense..." America said thoughtfully. He started to slip the slightly large cloak on.

"Now listen, tomorrow we're having a meeting. We're talking about food and water supplies mostly, but near the end we're talking about what we're going to do about The Leader. It's usually just countries so normal people are generally not allowed, but it should be fine if you're with Japan and me."

"'Kay, I get it" America said brightly.

"And please, don't do anything stupid..." England said uselessly.

"England, I've told you and told you, I'm the Hero! I never do anything stupid! America declared.

England was already begining to regret his decision.

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><p><em>I'm starting to think that I've turned England into a second main character XD I'm going on holiday for a few days so don't expect any updates until wednesday at least. Please review ^0^<em>


	6. Chapter 6

_I'm back XD Okay, I may be having a bit of writers block with the next chapter or two o_O -sighs- Just, please don't be _too_ disapointed if it's not that good ^^'_

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><p>The underground village was a<em> lot<em> bigger then America had thought. The path spiraled downwards into a great void until he could barely see the bottom. Holes as big as him had somehow been dug into the walls next to him. Each one was covered with some type of cloth.

"We live in those" England explained "There are more the further you go down" America looked down the giant pit. True enough, there where many more openings.

"I get it" America said- before walking into another wall. "Why do I need wear this hood?" America asked frustrated "I can barely see a thing!"

"You'll get used to it" England sighed "And it could be bad if another country recognised you."

"But I haven't seen another country yet except for you and Japan!" America complained. There had been others that the two had passed by but they had all been normal humans. "Why does everyone wear their hoods anyway? I can understand that everyone's trying to hide there identity from the future m- um...The Leader, but we're underground!"

England hesitated for a second. "The Leader always sends his pets around here. Even if he doesn't know exactly where, he knows we're out here somewhere."

"I...see" America regarded England. Why did he feel like the Brit was hiding something? He had already told him that he was The Leader, so there shouldn't be anything else to keep from America...should there?

"Is something wrong?" England had caught America's uncertain tone.

"It's just...are you-"

"England-san!" They turned around to see a familar black hooded figure runing towards them. "I was wondering-" He stopped when he saw a certain American. "America-san?" Japan asked, surprised.

America wondered to himself how anyone could recognised each other while wearing those hoods.

"He wanted to stay and help us fight The Leader" England said, lowering his voice.

"But...what if...?"

"Don't worry Japan" America smiled. "I know that I'm The Le- _AH!_" England kicked the American before gesturing to a few people who were nearby.

"I...if you know then why do you want to help?" Japan asked confused.

"Believe me Japan, I don't understand him either" England said exasperated.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

* * *

><p>"So where am I going to stay?" America asked suddenly.<p>

"What do you mean?"

"Well you said that the meeting's tomorrow, so I need somewhere to sleep" America grinned.

"But America-san, couldn't you use the time machine to go forward a day?" Japan said confused.

"Good idea!" America frowned. "But what if I go too far forward again? I could end up in a future where...um...the human race is enslaved by one eyed giraffes!" America declared loudly. A few puzzled heads turned in their direction.

"...Why would it be one eyed giraffes?" Was the only comment England could think of.

* * *

><p>"You'll probably have to stay with one of us" England said when the people around them had stopped staring at them. Japan nodded in agreement.<p>

"I'm fine with that" America said cheerily.

England turned to Japan. "Is it alright if you stay with America for a bit? I need to go somewhere."

"Huh? You're leaving?" America asked surprised.

"It's just a small errand. I'll be back soon." England promised. "Just make sure he doesn't do anything stupid" He whispered to Japan.

"Hey!"

England smiled before half walking, half running away.

An awkward silence came between America and Japan.

"So..." America started nervously "Don't you think it's a bit weird how you and England look practically the same as how you did in the past? I mean, your hair is more messy, but..." He trailed off. Japan just nodded, as if he wasn't really listening.

"Why do you want to help us, America-san?" He finally asked.

"Oh, um...I'm the Hero, so it's my job to..."

"But you know about...about the future you...so...?"

"Well, I guess I didn't like the way everyone seemed so...scared? I just...wanted to help..." He breathed in. "And...I thought that it'd be easier if I just thought of him as a different person and tried to stop him...'cause the way you two have been describing him makes this leader guy sound completely different to me!"

"I see..." Japan said calmly. "But surely England-san told you that it could be bad if another country found out about you?"

"Yeah...But would it really be _all_ the countries that'd want to kill me? Couldn't we just explain to them that I'm from the past? Some of them would understand, right?"

"They might...but that's not the only thing I'm worried about..."

"What?"

Japan pulled America into a corner, out of site of anyone who could be watching.

"This future is very different to your own time. Many people are suspicious of each other and wild accusations get thrown about."

"So...?"

"If someone found out that me and England-san were hiding you, then it wouldn't be good for us either." Japan looked around worriedly. "Like now, England-san has been to leave on errands. Sometimes he can be gone for weeks! England-san is also more unsociable then he used to be..."

"Is that even possible? What's the point in all of this...?"

"All of this has put England-san under a lot of suspicion. "Some..." Japan seemed to have trouble with saying the next words. He sighed. "Some think that England could be working for The Leader."

* * *

><p><em>It's just one thing after another isn't it? XD Not much happened in this chapter...But please review and tell me what you think ^_^<em>


	7. Chapter 7

_A short chapter XD I'm running out of things to write here XD _

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><p>"England? They think England works for The Leader?" America asked, stunned. Japan nodded nervously.<p>

Suddenly, the American burst out laughing. "This is a joke, right?" He grinned. "Why would _England_ work for The Leader? That's nearly the same as working for me, and you know he'd rather die then work for me!"

"Please be quiet, America-san!" Japan begged. People were staring at them again.

America calmed down when he realised something. "Why aren't you laughing? This _is_ a joke...right?"

Japan looked at America helplessly. "I wish it was..."he said flatly.

"But...why would anyone suspect England? He'd never do that..."

"I said that too. But for some reason, whenever anyone accuses England-san...he doesn't say anything to defend himself..."

"What? But why not? If that was me I'd never let anyone get away with saying that!" America said loudly.

"America-san..." Japan started sadly. He smiled suddenly "Please don't worry about this too much. We both know these are just wild accusations. They don't really mean anything..." America looked like he wanted to say something before Japan spoke again. "Do you want me to show you where I live? You should also decide if you want to stay with me or England-san" He said calmly.

"Um...sure?" America said uncertainly.

Japan signaled for America to follow him. They walked together in silence.

_Maybe I shouldn't of told him that..._Japan thought. _He already has enough to worry about...Isn't he being more quiet than usual? I remember him talking a lot more...is it because of what I said?_

"America-san, I-" Japan turned to the American.

Where he _should _of been at least.

"America-san?" Japan asked." America-san! Where are you?"

* * *

><p><em>I'm lost<em> America thought unhappily. He didn't know how, but he had somehow lost the Japanese man. By the time he had realised this Japan's black cloak was out of sight. He sighed deeply before walking into a wall _again_ "Screw this!"America yelled, pulling his hood down more violently then he had needed too. _England and Japan are just being paranoid... _he told himself. _I haven't even seen any other countries!_

"Excuse me, but are you lost?" A familar voice asked worriedly. America turned around to see who it was, and _really_ wished he hadn't.

France looked confused for a second before all the blood started to drain from his face. "A..Amer..."

"...Shit" America said for the second time that day.

* * *

><p><em>*Dramatic music* (again) A small cliffhanger ^0^ Please review and tell me what you think XD A chapter of The Desolate Future and Chibi Disaster! in one day is actually surprising for me o_O<em>


	8. Chapter 8

_The last chapter was actually the shortest chapter I've ever written o_O Nevermind XD_

* * *

><p>America immediately pulled his hood up, cursing his and the Frenchman's timing.<p>

"You're...Amérique? America?" France asked slowly, having trouble comprehending how the man infront of him could be there.

"N-no!" America said quickly. "Y...you must have confused for someone else!" he said weakly.

"But...you look exactly like-"

"I just have that type of face" America cut in nervously. "I've never heard of this "America" guy. I'd never have such a cool name like that!" He laughed uncertainly.

France regarded the American. "Then...what is your name?" He asked, not looking away from America.

"M-my name? Oh, right! It's A-...Alfred?" He said hopefully.

"Alfred?"

"Yep! Er...Sorry, but I've _really_ got to go!" "Alfred" barged past France, running as fast as he could. He heard the Frenchman call after him but America ignored him. He didn't care where he was going, he just needed to get away.

He yelped when he felt someone grab his arm.

He panicked when he saw that the person holding his arm was wearing a black cloak. "I-I'm not-! I mean, I..I'm just-!" America had trouble finishing whatever he was trying to say. He stuggled, not noticing that the person was talking to him.

"America! It's _me_!" England yelled, pulling down his hood.

"E-_England_!" America squeaked, fighting between feeling relieved, or embarrassed.

"Where the _hell _were you? I came back to find Japan on the verge of a panic attack because he had no idea what had happened to you! I've been looking _everywhere_ for you! We were both so _worried, _we-" He paused and thought about what he had just said. "Well, _I_ wasn't worried of course. But Japan was very upset! You're coming with me to apologize to him. You..."

America wasn't really paying attention. He was just happy to see someone he knew. He had really been more scared then he had let on when he ran into France. And hearing England rant on and on was actually kind of reassuring.

"...and extremly idiotic... -wait, are you even listening?"

America blinked. "Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening."

It wasn't the right thing to say.

* * *

><p>"America!" Japan shouted the moment he saw him and England. America winced. Japan must of been really angry if he wasn't even going to bother calling him "san"!<p>

"What happened to you? I turned my back for one second and you were gone..."

"Sorry Japan...I got a little lost..." America was starting to feel really guilty. It was obvious that Japan and England, no matter how much the Brit continued to deny it, had been worried sick about him.

Japan looked like he was about to say something else but America spoke again. "I know that you're both angry with me, but I'm _really_ sorry. And Japan, please don't yell at me 'cause England's been lecturing me for 10 minutes straight. I've learned my lesson."

"It's "learnt", you idiot" England said, but it was half hearted. "Just...don't do anything like that again."

"Please promise to be more careful, America-san" Japan said sternly.

America was just happy that Japan was saying his name the way he usually did. "I promise, alright? "

"It's not alright, but that'll have to do for now" England sighed.

* * *

><p>It was late. After Japan and England had finished scolding America, they had decided that it was best to go to bed then so that they could be ready for the meeting in the morning.<p>

England had insisted that America should stay with him. "I don't want you running off again. You'll just get lost again or get into trouble."

"Yeah, yeah" America muttered. "So, this is your home...cave...thing?" He asked as they walked inside one of the many openings. The inside was the size of an average living room. There was a hammock on the wall and a lantern next to it. What looked like a type of flower was growing in one of the corners.

"I was starting to think there wasn't any wildlife left" America laughed as he went to examine the plant.

"There's not much, but we managed to save a few plants." England explained. "Some of us are trying to grow more, but it's a bit hard when we can't go on surface that much" he said sadly.

America felt a pang of guilt. It was his future self's fault that these people were forced to live underground, away from sunlight and fresh air.

He shook his head. Sure, it was his future self who had done this, but that didn't mean that it was completely his fault! And anyway, he was going to help them!

"So...where do I sleep?" America asked awkwardly. He wanted to get away from his own thoughts. They were really starting to depress him.

* * *

><p><em>I'll leave it there for now ^0^ Please review and tell me what you thought XD<em>


	9. Chapter 9

_New chapter :3 The story probably won't progress that much in this chapter but I hope you enjoy the chapter anyway XD_

* * *

><p>America sighed, turning on to his side. Hours had (probably) passed but no matter how tired he was the American found that he couldn't sleep. England had hung up a another hammock for him to sleep in, and it was actually pretty comfy, but he couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened.<p>

_I'm The Leader...It's still pretty hard to believe..._

He breathed in deeply. The air was stuffy and dry. America hadn't really noticed this in the day, but now that he had nothing to distract him it was all to obvious. He wanted fresh air...

_I've barely been here a day and I already want to be back on the surface...And these people have to live here 24/7! _These thoughts were really not good for his conscience.

Now that he was alone with his thoughts the small stabs of guilt that he would feel when he was reminded of everyone's situation was growing and becoming more frequent.

_But it's not my fault! It's The Leader's...Okay, that's still technically me, but it's the future me, so I pretty much had _nothing_ to do with whatever I...he...The Leader did. None of this has happened yet, and I won't let it happen! When I do go home, I'll make sure it doesn't!_

Home. America frowned. Were Japan and England worried about him? Not the ones he had been talking with a few hours ago, but the past (or would that be present?) Japan and England. Japan would probably be wondering why he wasn't back in a few minutes like he would of expected. And England...did he even know he was gone?

_He seemed pretty pissed at me when I last spoke to him..._America thought sadly. _But then, isn't he always? _

He wondered if anyone other then Japan had noticed he was gone. It had been less then a day, so he couldn't of been declared "missing" yet. Unless Japan had panicked when he saw that America wasn't coming back anytime soon and told the entire world what had happened.

And when you're a country, telling the world doesn't always get thought of as just an exaggeration.

And was Japan the type of person to panic over that type of thing? He always seemed so calm. Although, future Japan had seemed really upset when they had gotten separated, but maybe the Japan in the future was a bit different from the past Japan? Future Japan would of been through more then the Japan from his time, so it wasn't completely crazy to say that.

But there was another thing that was bothering America. The voice that he had heard when he was about to go home. He didn't have much time to think about it because of the whole "evil future self" thing, but it still worried him.

_"You have to stay..."_

At first he had just figured it was his imagination, but it had seemed so real. But what troubled him the most wasn't the actual voice, but the fact that the voice had seemed so familiar...

America gasped suddenly, nearly falling to the floor. That feeling was back. The feeling of being watched. But how could that be possible? It was dark, but he knew that the only ones in the room were him and England.

Through the silence, America heard a faint chuckle.

"Who's there?" America yelled, trying not to sound scared "Who the hell are you? And why have you been watching me?" He jumped up from his hammock, getting ready for a possible fight with the stalker.

"America...? America, what's wrong?" England called from where he had been sleeping, his voice tired at first before turning urgent. A sudden light in the room made America realise that England must of lit the lantern that had been next to the Brit's hammock. America looked around wildly, trying to find the stranger.

America and England were the only ones there.

"What's wrong?" England asked again, noticing the American's confused expression.

"Th-there was someone else here!" America said nervously.

England blinked. "America, you're probably just tired" He tried to say calmly, but couldn't hide the note of irritaion in his voice.

"That's not it! Ever since I got here, I keep having weird moments where I feel like I'm being watched."

An emotion flickered over England's face, a mixture between fear, saddness and...anger?

England smiled suddenly, all hints of the other emotion gone. "It's really not a good time for you to turn paranoid, America" he chuckled "You should go to sleep. If you feel like you're being watched again, just wake me up."

"Fine!" He said, reluctantly going back to his hammock. England smiled again before turning the lantern off.

Before America managed to drift off to sleep, he could of swore he heard the faint laugh again...

* * *

><p><em>"...ca..."<em>

"Huh?" America blinked. What was that?

_"...ica" _

He had definatly just heard a voice. But it was too quiet to here what they were saying...

"_America...!"_

His name? Someone was calling him? The voice sounded familiar, but it was different to the one he had heard earlier...

_"America!"_

Wait...he knew that voice, it was-!

"America-san, you need to wake up!" Japan's voice cut through the American's dream.

"Huh...?" He replied sleepily. What had he just been dreaming?

"America!" This time it was England's voice.

_Weird...why are Japan and England at my house? _America thought confusedly. That was when he remembered the events of the day before.

"America, I told you there was a meeting today. If you really want to help then get up!" England said strictly.

"Right, right. Sorry" America said sheepishly. "Why's Japan here?" America asked, as if he had only just then noticed the Japanese man.

"I thought it'd be best if we all went to the meeting together" Japan smiled.

"Here" England said, handing the American a bowl of...something.

"And...what is this, exactly?" America stared at the liquid-like substance.

"Breakfast" England said simply.

America sipped it nervously and coughed at the taste. "Dude, this taste's nearly as bad as you're cooking!" America said, half joking, half dying inside.

"You little-"

"We don't have what you would normally of eaten in you're time" Japan cut in, hoping to stop an argument from occuring. "Please, just bear with it for now" he begged.

America sighed. If this is what people normally ate around here then he might as well try to drink/eat it. Maybe it'd stop him from feeling that pang of guilt that was starting to come back. Or stop him from feeling anything at all, for that manner.

After he had finished the unknown substance, America looked at the other two countires expectingly. "So, how long until the meeting?"

"We can head there now, but it probably won't start for a little while" Japan explained.

"Remember America, you have to keep your identity a secret. Don't say or do anything that might draw attention to yourself...actually, just don't say or do anything. Okay?"

"Alright..." America said sadly. He grinned suddenly "Let's go! I don't care if I can't talk in the meeting, as long as I can still defeat The Leader!" He laughed as he ran out the room."

"...How long do you think it'll take for America-san to realise he has no idea where the meeting place is?"

"He'll figure it out" England replied uncertainly "...eventually."

* * *

><p><em>So...who has been watching America? What was the voice that had made him stay? And who was calling his name in his dream? All of these questions will one day be answered, but not for a while yet XD Please review and tell me what you think ^0^<em>


	10. Chapter 10

_Sorry that this is later then usual but school is really cutting into my fanfict writing time o_O_

* * *

><p>The meeting place seemed to be the biggest room in the whole underground village. Raised parts of earth seemed to be substituting as seats and many lanterns were hung up around the room to give the meeting place as much light as possible.<p>

America looked around in surprise at the amount of people in black cloaks. He hadn't seen that many countries yesterday! He blinked as another thought came to him. England had said that a few countries were still stuck at the city, but that meant they were still okay...right? No one had said anything about any of the other countries dying, so they had to be alright.

But Japan and England had hid that he was The Leader. How did he know that they weren't hiding anything else from him? To stop him from freaking out or feeling guilty? Although, it was a bit too late for that last one.

They sat down together. "Remember America, don't do anything that will draw attention to yourself" England whispered.

"I get it" America replied, slightly irritated. How many times did England have to tell him?

"But it is important, America-san" Japan said "You already stand out slightly because you're wearing the human cloak."

"Couldn't I of worn a black one for today?"

"We can't just suddenly gain a new country. If anything that would just give you more attention!" England said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okay, okay!"

"Angleterre! Japon!" a voice called. America tensed as a familiar Frenchman ran up to them. That person might of seen him yesterday, but he was sure that he had convinced him that he was someone else.

"France-san, it's good to see you again" Japan smiled but his tone was uneasy. England just sighed and looked away. America wondered to himself how France could of reconised the two of them. It was nearly impossible to tell anyone apart when everyone had their hood on. Well, nearly everyone.

"Hey France, why don't you wear your hood?" America asked.

France flicked his hair back. "Why would I deny everyone the chance to see my beautiful face?" He blinked as if he had just noticed who had asked the question. "Oh...You must be that man I met yesterday..."

America shrunk away as England and Japan turned to him. "Um...yeah" he said weakly.

"It was Alfred right? I'm sorry about the other day. You bore a striking resembles to someone I knew a long time ago..."

"Sorry France" England cut in. "We need to talk to Alfred about something private. If you wouldn't mind..."

"I understand..." France sighed "But, Angleterre" he smiled. "I know that we never got along very much in the past, but you know that I am not that untrustworthy, right?" France winked before walking to his own seat.

"What was that about?" America asked when France was out of earshot.

"I don't know. That frog has never made much sense" England glared at America "But 'Alfred', what did he mean about yesterday?"

America paled. "Er...well...France _may_ of seen me, but I-"

"America-san, do you realise how dangerous that is?" Japan scolded before England could.

"But I told him I was someone else so there's no problem, right?" America mentally prepared himself for whatever England was going to say to him for being so careless.

But England said nothing.

"Um...England...?"

The Brit buried him head in his hand. "Why do I even bother...?" he asked quietly. Before America had a chance to ask him what was wrong, a familiar voice spoke up.

"Everyone! Please be quiet so that we can start the meeting!" A man with a recognizable german accent called from the front of the room.

"Of course it's Germany" America mumbled. Even in the distant future, Germany had to control the meetings.

"Now, our first topic is..." After that, the meeting seemed to mainly revolve around water and food supplies. A man with a familiar Italian accent tried to suggest something, but Germany quickly shot down the idea before it could even be said.

America soon found him as bored as he would of been in a normal meeting.

"These meetings are always the same, aru"

"Da..."

"Ve...I'm hungry..."

"Shut up, dammit!"

The America smiled to himself as he heard all these familiar voices. He was even relieved to hear _Russia's_ voice. As he looked around he was pretty sure he could tell that most of the main countries were in that room.

"Now, about our issues with The Leader..." A tense silence filled the room. America looked up, more alert. This is what he was there for.

"As you know, our plan to...overthrow...The Leader has not been successful so far. We have tunnels leading near the city, but The Leader's...creations...have been living there, so it is dangerous to take those routes alone. After a three days in the tunnels you then need to walk the rest of the way on the surface."

"Three days?" America whispered to himself.

"We wanted to get as far away from the city as possible" Japan explained quietly.

"We do not have any plans to go back through the tunnels in the next few weeks" Germany countinued "But if we need to decide on anything else then we should call another meeting on a later date."

"Is that it?" America asked, slightly disapointed.

"There's still a little bit of the meeting left..."

"Now, before we end this meeting, does anyone have a topic that they want to cover?" Germany questioned the audience in front of him.

"Ve~ I think we should talk about food!"

"Italy, we already covered that" Germany sighed. "Does anyone _else_ have a topic?"

"I do" Someone stood up. This person was in a brown cloak, so he must of been a normal human. "I think what I want to talk about is obvious. We have a spy."

"It's not a good idea to throw around wild accusations" Germany sighed again.

"But it's true! How else would The Leader know where to send his monsters? Why else would we always fail in our mission to liberate the others and stop him? Someone must be telling him these things!" Some of the countries and normal human's in the audience started to whisper to each other. Most said that the man was just paranoid.

The others were agreeing with him.

"Any of us could be the spy! But, I have a few questions for a certain someone" To America's horror, he saw the stranger point at _England_.

"You" the man hissed "have some explaining to do."

"Oh?" he asked nonchalantly "What do I have to explain?"

"Don't play games! You are the most suspicious one out of everyone!"

America glared at the cloaked man. England was a lot of things, but he wasn't a traitor! He knew when something was right or wrong!

"I still don't understand what makes me suspicious" England said coolly.

"You're almost always alone! And then you just vanish without a trance for weeks on end, and then reapear as if nothing had happened!" The man declared.

"I only leave to go on a few errands. You're the one making it seem like a crime" England said simply.

"If that's so, then why don't you tell us what these 'errands' are?"

England paused. "...That's private" He said finally.

The man smirked. "You see!" He can't think of an answer!"

"That's enough!" Germany yelled. "Please sit down. England is just as suspicious as any of us."

"Wha...? But he's the spy! I know he is!"

England said nothing.

"If he's not then why won't he defend himself? He just accepts it! He must be the spy!"

_"Shut up!"_ America couldn't take it anymore. He stood up suddenly. "You don't know _anything_! Stop accusing England! He would never do that! Right England?" He looked down at England expectingly.

England stared at the American "Oh...you idiot...you bloody idiot..."

America blinked in confusion. Everyone in the room had fallen silent.

"A...America-san.." Japan whispered weakly.

It was then America realised what was wrong. He had stood up so suddenly that his hood had fallen down.

And every country in the room was staring at the American.

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><p>A figure watched from a far. He laughed softly. That had been unexpected. And not alot surprised him these days. So when something did surprise him, he always found himself laughing.<p>

"Maybe he will be more interesting then I thought" He said quietly. He took one look at the scene before him before walking away.

Since this one was so determined he probably wouldn't have_ too _wait long.

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><p><em>Another cliffhanger XD And a bit more dramatic then the one with France XD So I won't get to update as often 'cause of school (and I have two other stories besides this one to work on) But I'll try to update when I can XD Please review and tell me what you think XD<em>


	11. Chapter 11

_Chibi Disaster! seems to be getting more popular then The Desolate Future XD Anyway, I just want to say I love all the reviews people are reviewing on my stories XD All the people in the Hetalia fanfiction part of the fandom are so nice...And if I don't reply to your reviews, just know that I read all reviews happily ^0^ On to the story..._

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><p>Time seemed to stop in that room. Even though nearly everyone had their hoods on, America could tell that the countries in the room were staring at him in shock.<p>

"I...um...I...well, this is- I mean...haha...it's a funny story and I...er..." America managed to stammer.

Everyone just continued to stare at him.

"He's..." England stood up next to the American. "He's a...a new refugee from the city and..."

"...Me and England-san decided to help him. He's on the run from The Leader, like all of us" Japan put in helpfully as he rose next to the two of them. America couldn't help but look at them thankfully, even if it was obvious that their story was made up on the spot.

"But England, Japan...he looks exactly like..." Germany started uncertainly. America could feel the suspicious glares of the other countries.

"Honestly everyone!" A new voice spoke up. "First it was wild accusations of people working for The Leader, but have we now become so paranoid that we actually suspect someone of being _him?_" To everyone's surprise, France flounced next to the three standing nations. "This man is named Alfred. Like Angleterre said, he recently escaped from the city."

The crowd started to whisper to each other again. _France _was agreeing with _England._

"And of course, do you really think The Leader would be so stupid as to let himself get caught like this?" France finished with a smile. A few of the other nations started laughing quietly in agreement.

America slowly put his hood back up. It actually seemed like they were going to get out of this!

"Are you really going to believe them" The cloaked man said suddenly in disbelief. "They must be working together!"

France laughed. "Can anyone in this room honestly remember a time I worked together with England? _Willingly?_" Some of the nations started chuckling again.

"That may be true France" Germany said. "But you do seem to be sticking up for him right now..."

"The tres bien moi merely dislikes wild accusations. If you're going to make something up about someone, you might as well make it believable" Some of the other countries knew France spoke from experience.

"Believa- You think I'm making it up?" the man yelled, outraged. "It's true! It's all true! The fact that these people are standing up for this traitor proves that they're working together!"

England grabbed America's shoulder to stop him from attcking the cloaked man. "Is it okay if we go now?" he asked Germany, gesturing to the argument that was waiting to happen.

"Ja" he replied, then added, slightly louder "the meeting is now officially over! Our next meeting wll be in a few weeks. I hope that we'll keep any accusations to a minimum" Germany finished this, although no one could say for sure, with a glare at the hooded man.

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><p>"You idiot! You complete and utter idiot!" England yelled at the American when they were away from the other countries.<p>

"England-san, I'm sure America-san didn't mean for that to happen..."

"Yeah!" America shouted "I was trying to help you! How was I supposed to know that my hood would fall down?"

"America-san, please don't shout..."

"It doesn't matter if you didn't know, it still happened! Why were you trying to help anyway? I had everything under control!"

"England-san..."

"Sure, 'cause a man calling you a traitor and having half the room agreeing with him is exactly what I would call 'under control'" America replied sarcastically.

"Please..."

"We told you not to draw attention to yourself! Or is standing up in front of the world and revealing yourself what you consider unnoticeable?" England said with a faint smirk.

"..."

"I couldn't just sit there and let him say that about you!" America paused. "Why didn't you say anything? You could of defended yourself, but why didn't you? America asked.

The British nation blinked at America. "I..." he started uncertainly.

"Am I interrupting something?" A familiar French voice filled the room. The three nations turned to see France smiling in the entrance.

England glared at him. "What do you want, frog?"

_Some things never change... _America laughed to himself, almost forgetting the argument he had just had.

"I just thought you would like to thank me for helping you in that disaster of a meeting" France said with a playful smile.

"We didn't need help. We were fine on our own" Englnad growled stubbornly.

"Of course, of course..." France's eyes turned to look at America. "So, when are you going to explain to me how Amérique is here?"

America, England and Japan all froze.

"France-san, what are you talking about?" Japan asked after a moment of silence.

"Please, do you really think I'm that stupid?" France scoffed "I know that he's Amérique, the question is how? I could tell from my little conversation with him that he's not The Leader."

"Oh, I'm from the past" America said brightly. This gave him another kick from England.

France stared at the other three interestedly. "The past? I would say that you were lying, but then how else could you be here?"

"So how did you know I wasn't The Leader? Actually, England knew too..." America asked thoughtfully.

"It's simple really" France answered "If you had actually met The Leader then you would immediately know that you two are completly different" France suddenly seemed to lose his overconfident personality, which he had been showing off since the Frenchman had shown up at the meeting, and closed his eyes tightly, bitting down on a handkerchief that seemingly came from no where. "So very different...You always have a cute sense of justice and try to help people when they don't need or want it. But that is what makes you a good person. But The Leader...he's crazy! He's paranoid and thinks anyone who's talking behind his back is plotting his demise! He enjoys causing physical and emotional pain. _Especially_ emotional pain. Also, he's _smart_! He just knows _everything!" _France cried, getting more and more hysterical.

"Would you stop screaming?" England said, unbothered by the Frenchman's outburst.

"Um...are you sure you're not exaggerating a little?" America said uneasily. "I mean, I know the reason people want to get rid of the future me is because he's a cruel evil guy, but..."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure France-san is under exaggerating."

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><p><em>So it looks like they have a new ally XD I'm glad I could finally upload the new chapter ^0^ I have a lot of tests coming up, and just school in general, so I can't always find the time to write new ones T-T Anyway, please review and tell me what you think XD Um, if anyone can tell me how I can improve this story, that would be nice ^^'<em>


	12. Chapter 12

_And with this chapter, this means I've updated all my stories at least once in the past two weeks XD I just want to say now that I love plot twists and confusing people, so be warned XD Even I'm having a little trouble understanding what I have planned for this story..._

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><p>The man smiled. The room he was currently in was completely dark, except for one single candle. He prefered candle light, even though he had electrical lights, like most people in his city, but the fire made him feel nostalgic.<p>

He sighed as a faint memory came forward. He and four other were roasting...Ah, what was it..._marshmallows, _around a campfire. However, the atmosphere had seemed somewhat...sinister, due to a certain someone's singing.

"I know you're there" he said suddenly, mentally tearing himself away from the memories. They were a long time ago anyway.

He didn't need them.

Another figure nervously stepped out of the shadows, dressed in a black cloak. A black cloak identical to many others...

"So" The man smirked coldly "How long were you planning to hide there?" The other man shivered. For all he knew, that man was now plotting his slow and painful demise behind that smile. Like how most people felt around Russia, except it was harder to tell with this man.

And he was pretty sure that this man would do something a lot worse then what Russia could ever do.

"I...I didn't mean to offend you...I.." The black cloaked man managed to stutter.

The first man merely smiled again. "Forget it. How are things at that place?"

"It's..." The black cloaked one started uncertainly "The same things that have always happened, really...However..."

The man's eyes lit up in interest. "However?" He inquired.

The cloaked man sighed. "It's your...your past self in this one. He's acting differently to what we would expect"

"Oh, are you talking about that little meeting fiasco? That was funny" The man chuckled softly. The black cloaked man jerked in surprise. It wasn't often that you heard this man laugh because something was _funny_. When someone was screaming in pain, yes. When someone was being put through agonising emotional torture, yes. But not because something was purely _funny. _

"I...I suppose it was..." The cloaked man said anxiously. "But wait, how did you know about that? I didn't tell you, and..."

The man seemed to of lost interest and was now watching the candle again. He looked up slowly when he realised he had been asked a question. "Hmm? Oh, I was there" he said casually.

If the cloaked man's hood wasn't there, you would of seen him blink in surprise. "You were there? I didn't notice, I..." He shook his head "T-the meeting wasn't the problem! He...he seems to know..."

"He knows?" The man looked more interested with the conversation all of a sudden. "And yet he wants to continue?"

"Yes...He doesn't know everything of course, but still enough to make him normally turn back..."

The man let this information sink in slowly. He looked at the cloaked man and, for seemingly no reason, smiled. "How different" he mused. "Very well then, you may go. As one of my best spies and, dare I say it, my most trusted man, I'm counting on you to watch my past self"

"I...I understand" The cloaked man said "But...what will you do?"

The Leader's smile widened "I'll 'visit' my past self soon. If he's so intent on staying he might as well meet me"

The cloaked man nodded before turning and walking away. _The past America is going to go through hell... _he thought to himself. But then he smirked. So The Leader trusted him, huh?

* * *

><p>America groaned as he woke up. Silence. Due to the lack of lamp light and noise, it must of been the middle of the night. But why did the silence seem so...weird?<p>

Then he realised. Usually when England was asleep, he would breath softly, a comforting noise in the night. But there was no sound in that room.

The America fumbled around in the dark, every movement he made echoing painfully loudly in the quiet. He sighed in relief as he finally found the lantern and used one of the nearby matches to turn it on.

England was gone.

He looked around the small room, hoping that he might of missed him somehow. Where was England? Did he go to the bathroom or something? Or did he go to see France or Japan? Although it was probably the middle of the night, and those two left for their own homes a while ago...But why would he suddenly go without telling him?

_Maybe he's on one of those...errands again _America thought sadly. But what could be so important that he had to leave in the middle of the night? It's no wonder people suspect him if he just leaves like that...

America shook his head. What was he thinking? Whatever England was doing was probably important. There was no reason to suspect him.

He sighed. The air underground was stuffy. Maybe if he went on the surface he could think more clearly? America smiled as he grabbed his cloak. It'd be nice to get some fresh air. And if England complained, it was his own fault for leaving him on his own.

As he left the room, pulling his hood firmly down, America realised finding the way to the surface was a lot harder then he had thought. Even with the lantern, America couldn't see much. His first decision had been to look for the hole he had first fallen through, but surely they would of covered that up by now?

"H-hello?" a new voice seemed to come out of nowhere. America clamped his hand over his mouth to stop himself from screaming, only letting out a muffled squeak.

"Who's there?" America spun around to see where the voice had come from, making sure his hood wouldn't fall off. Another cloaked person jumped back in surprise.

"Sorry!" The new person whispered. "I didn't mean to scare you!"

America breathed out in relief. It was another country. And he didn't seem dangerous..."I...wasn't scared!" America laughed nervously, but stopped when he remembered it was the middle of the night.

The other person frowned, possibly in confusion. "I see..." he said after a pause. "Um...you..."

"What's wrong?" America asked.

"Are you...America?"

The American had to try hard not to drop his lantern there and then. "No!" he said quickly. "My name's Alfred. Why would I be America?" He tried laughing casually, but it only came out as a high pitched giggle.

The other person smiled, almost nostalgically. "You were always a terrible liar...But, how can you be here? You're...not like him...but..."

"I...don't know what you're talking about" America said, slightly panicked. "And anyway, why would you know if I- er, America was a terrible liar? He's not that bad at it- um, not that I'd know..."

"I've known him most of my life" The man removed his hood "After all, I'm his brother. I'm Canada"

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><p><em>And now we have Canada in the story ^0^ But the mysterious man who had appeared sometimes in the past has been revealed as The Leader, America's future self! And what could he of meant by 'visit' America...? One day, these things will be explained. But for now, please review and tell me what you think ^_^<em>


	13. Chapter 13

_Another chapter~ XD Sorry, I was on holiday for a week, which meant no internet access so I couldn't update anything :'( But I could still write XD_

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><p>The entrance to the underground village where the refuges lived was surrounded by large rocks. Unless you looked carefully, you wouldn't be able to see it, not even from above.<p>

Two countries sat in front of these rocks.

"So you always knew it was me?" America shivered, clutching his cloak tighter. It was freezing above ground at night.

"Yes. It was pretty obvious. Or maybe it's only obvious to those who knew you well" Canada said. "I wanted to talk to you privately, so when I saw you walking around..."

"It's good to see you too" America smiled "I'm glad that you're here as well. I was a bit worried when I didn't see you at the meeting"

"I just stay quiet and watch everyone fight like I used to. No one notices me anyway..." Canada smirked slightly "No offence, but you were kind of an idiot in that meeting"

"I've already been told that enough by a certain British country" America rolled his eyes "He didn't include the 'no offence' part though. And he kind of yelled it"

"He was probably worried about you. I'd shout at you too if I was him..." The Canadian frowned "It is pretty dangerous for you to be here...Why do you want to stay? Why do you want to fight your future self?"

"You know, everyone believes that I'm from the past" America said quickly "Usually, well in my time at least, everyone would think that was crazy but everyone I've told knows that I'm telling the truth. Isn't that kind of weird?"

Canada blinked "Well, you're pretty different from yourself...I mean your future self...no, The Leader..." He shook his head "Sorry, what do you want me to call him?"

"The Leader" America said immediatly "It's kind of creepy if you call him my future self"

"...Is that why?"

"Is that why what?"

"Is that why you want to defeat him? Because you don't want to think that he's you?" Canada persisted.

"What? N-no..." America replied nervously. "That's not it..."

"Then _why?"_

America stood up and pointed to himself dramatically "Because I'm the _HERO_!"

...

...

"America, you're not fooling anyone"

"R-really...? I thought I was pretty convincing" America deflated slightly.

Canada glared at him. "America, I swear, if you don't tell me-"

"Alright, alright!" America didn't want to get Canada angry. He'd seen his brother playing hockey enough times...

He sat down next to the Canadian country. "You see...when I do go back to my own time, I want to stop the war that caused this future from ever happening" America said firmly. "But...if I can't stop it and I do turn into some kind of evil overlord...I just...I want to know that I get stopped".

Canada stared at his brother. He hadn't been expecting that answer. "Stopped?"

"Yeah...Even if that means my future self is killed, I want to know that everything will turn out all right in the end" He looked at Canada "Do you think that's stupid?"

"It's stupid, but at the same time it makes sense" Canada smiled "Only you would come up with something like that"

America blushed. "I...I know...Can we talk about something else?" He begged.

"Sure. What like?"

"Well..." America started thoughtfully "Why were you out here this late?"

"I like to go out to the surface and get some fresh air" Canada explained "Usually there's no one out here at this time so it's quiet but it gives me time to think about everything. What about you?"

"It's just...England was gone when I woke up. The air was too stuffy down there so I tried to find the way to the surface" America scowled at nothing "Where did that guy go anyway?"

Canada shrugged. "No one knows. He just leaves sometimes. Usually in the night so that no one notices at first, and he usually comes back a little while later. But sometimes he's gone for weeks at a time" He jumped when he noticed America's worried expression "But...he's helping you hide here so I'm sure he won't be gone for too long! I..."

"I hope so...I know I've got you, Japan and even France on my side, but I don't want to lose an ally. I think I'm going to need a lot of help if I'm going to defeat The Leader, so..."

_He must be really worried _Canada thought _He actually said 'going to' instead of 'gonna!'_

"But what could he possibly need to do?" America pouted.

"I told you I don't know...Although, it is a little weird about England" Canada said hesitantly

"Weird?"

"It...It's just another rumor...but...he's supposed to be dead..."

America's eyes widened in alarm "Dead? What?"

Canada sighed. "Near the end of the war...England...some of the countries said that they saw him die...You said it too actually"

"But...but he's obviously not!"

"After the city was buit...he just..._appeared. _One day he wasn't there, the next day he was" Canada said distantly. "Everyone asked him what had happened to him, but he said nothing. And what was also weird was that you, The Leader, were completely unfazed. You just accepted it like it was normal. I suppose that's what first started the suspicions about him..."

"But he's not a traitor!" America nearly yelled "And he's not dead. Couldn't everyone of just made a mistake?"

"I know...But it's true that ever since he came back after...'dying'...he's been very distant from everyone..."

"But there must be some reason for that! I know that England would never..."

"I know" Canada said sadly. "But America...you shouldn't trust everyone blindly..."

America regarded his brother. "Huh...?"

"I know you trust everyone here because you knew them in the past...but people, and countries, do change over time. Just look at your future self. The ones who you trust the most could be the ones you have to be the most wary of..."

"Canada...are you saying that you _want_ me to be suspicious of England?"

"I didn't say that. I only told you to be careful" Canada stiffened suddenly.

"What now?" America asked when he noticed Canada's reaction.

Canada turned around to the entrance. "Someone's coming..."

Sure enough, footsteps were coming from the dark entrance.

"Um...Do we hide?" America asked slowly.

"That might be best..."

The two North American brothers hid behind some of the rocks surrounding the entrance, watching the opening carefully.

A black cloaked man walked out of the entrance, looking around the area warily.

America jumped up and started running towards him.

"W-what are you doing? Get down!" Canada hissed.

The man turned around in surprise, just before he got tackled by an American.

"England!" America yelled "Where the _hell_ were you?" he asked angrily.

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><p><em>I'll leave it there XD I'm glad I could finally get this up ^0^ If there are any spelling mistake then sorry but I didn't have the internet to check it...^^' If there are any then I'll eventually find them. They can't hide forever... :) As I always seem to say on my stories, please review and tell me what you think ^_^<em>


	14. Chapter 14

_Wow, I'm really confusing everyone ^_^ That makes me happy in a strange way XD _

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><p>"Where were you?" America asked again, glaring at the Brit he had pinned down.<p>

England scowled back up at him "Where were _you?_ I was only gone for ten minutes! Don't you realise it's dangerous for you to wander around on your own, day or night?"

"That doesn't answer the question at all! And if you hadn't suddenly disapeared I wouldn't of gone myself! And anyway, I wasn't alone, I was with Canada" He pointed to the Canadian that was looking at them worriedly.

"A-America, I'm sure if you just let him explain himself..." Canada said nervously.

America looked at England grudgingly before letting him back up "Fine" He said, not trying to hide his annoyance. "But where were you?"

"I wanted to find your time machine" England said angrily.

The two North American brothers exchanged confused glances "You...wanted to find my time machine...?" America asked slowly.

"I...was just making sure it was still there" England said awkwardly "You do realise that you could never go home if something happened to it, right?"

America paled "I...didn't think about that...Is it still there?"

"Luckily" England huffed "It'd probably be a good idea to move it somewhere safer. Leaving it out in the open like that is dangerous!"

"...I guess I could try to move it..." America said thoughtfully. He turned to Canada "Wanna help?"

Canada blinked in surprise "I swear, you only ever remembered me when you needed something..." but he was smiling "I can try"

"Thanks, bro!" America grinned "So...what's going on tomorrow?"

"...Tomorrow?"

"Yeah! I know Germany said you guys aren't planning to defeat The Leader any time soon, but I still wanna do something to help!" America explained.

"The only things planned is for people to go out into the tunnels and get rid of his pets" Canada frowned "That's it"

"Get rid of his pets...? Wait, you mean you guy get to kill monsters?" America's eyes started to shine. "That's so cool! I wanna try to!"

"It's not 'cool', it's dangerous" England said. "You also have to camp in the tunnels for a few days. But if you're not careful those monsters can ambush you while you sleep"

"Isn't that why you're meant to have someone keep watch?" America asked in confusion.

"That doesn't make it any less dangerous" England scolded.

"...It, might not be such a bad idea..." Canada said quietly. Even so, the other two countries turned to him in shock.

"_What?"_ They said at the same time.

"I-if he's with a group then he'd be pretty much safe" Canada said anxiously "It'd keep him occupied for a little bit, and if he does do things that help us, then everyone could slowly learn to trust him. He needs that after what happened at the meeting..." Canada flinched as the other nations continued to stare at him. "A-and I could go to! I'd make sure he wouldn't do anything stupid, and..." He trailed off.

"Exactly" America said smugly "See Iggy? Nothing could go wrong!"

"Well...a few things could go wrong actually..."

"It's too dangerous, even if Canada did go with you!" England yelled.

"Why are you always such a kill joy? I can't believe people actually say you've changed, you're as boring as ever!" America shouted back.

"You- How dare you-!"

"Please stop fighting!" Canada said as loud as he could, stepping inbetween the two squabbling nations. "Arguing solves nothing!"

"But he-!" England glared at the two countries, but then sighed. "Fine, you know what America? Do what you like"

America's anger subsided slightly. "Oh...really...?" He said sadly "I...want to go on the monster killing thing, but...I could still use your help...I mean...I don't want to be alone there..."

"_Alone_?" Canada asked.

"Well you have a weird way of showing you need help!" But England's glare softened "I...I guess I could go with you...Someone needs to make sure you don't get yourself killed..."

"What about me?" Canada stared at the two nation, bewildered.

"Thanks Iggy" America grinned again. He couldn't afford for anyone to be angry at him in this place.

Canada realised that he must of been forgotten...again. He didn't even know why he was surprised. "I'm going to go back to my room" he said with a sigh.

"Huh? Oh, goodnight!" America called when he remembered his brother. A faint reply was heard. "So we can move the time machine in the morning" He said, going back to the original conversation. "Can we go back to our room now? I'm kind of sleepy and I don't know how to get back myself"

"If you're done with your midnight expedition, then fine" England replied coolly. He picked up the lantern and started walking back down the entrance, indicating for the American to follow him.

"Hey...England?" America asked when they had been walking for a few minutes. "Can the dead come back to life?"

England paused. "Is...this about that zombie thing? I already told you there were none!"

"No, it's not that" America said hesitantly "I...um...I heard a really weird rumor...it was actually about you"

"Oh?" America couldn't see the Brit's face "There are a lot of rumors that go around here. But what is it?"

"Well...it's kind of strange actually..." He laughed nervously "A-apparently you're meant to be...dead?"

No reply. If he hadn't been standing right in front of him, America would of thought the Brit hadn't heard him.

"And" England's voice was suddenly cold. "Where did you hear this rumor? Was it Canada who told you?"

America flinched. Why did England sound so...harsh?

"No!" He found himself suddenly saying "I...I heard it the other day. You know, when I accidently got lost when I was with Japan. A few people were talking about it" America lied.

There was a long pause.

"Is that so..." England said thoughtfully.

The American nodded, but then realised that England couldn't see him because he was still facing the other way. "Y-yeah"

"America, do you trust me?"

"H-huh?" America jumped at the sudden question.

"Do you trust me" The next time was more of a statement then a question.

"Well...I..."

_You shouldn't trust everyone blindly..._

America's eyes widened as he remembered Canada's words from before. But...he said that he hadn't been talking about England! And anyway, even though they argue a lot, he kind of considered England one of his friends...

_The ones who you trust the most could be the ones you have to be the most wary of..._

"America!" England snapped, causing the American to come out of his thoughts.

"I-I do!" He said without thinking.

England turned to face America. Even though he was smiling, his eyes were emotionless. "Good. It's very important that you trust me"

"I..."

"You need to believe in me America" England said firmly "Understand?"

"...I understand" America said uncertainly.

Different emotions passed over England face, until he suddenly looked normal again. "Good" He said, satisfied. "Let's go, it's late" he started to continue down the dark path.

America stood there for a few seconds before following. What the _hell_ was up with England?

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><p><em>That's a good question America XD But I'm not saying anything...yet XD It will all be revealed one day XD One other thing, have you seen that <em>_ANTI THE∞HOLiC __MMD video, the one where England's dancing around with a skeleton? I wanted to try and do a fanfiction based on it, but whenever I try to think of something it always ends up linked to The Desolate Future...It's weird o_O Anyway, please review and tell me what you think ^_^_


	15. Chapter 15

_I'm pretty sure I'm not even half way through with this fanfic, and I'm already thinking of a sequel like thing o_O I guess I'll just need to finish this when I can so that I can go onto that idea ^0^ This chapter's kind of split up a lot ^^'_

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><p>"Are you sure this will work?" Two men were in a dark room together, surrounded by candles. One was knelt down, trying to draw different symbols on the floor. The other was looking down at him worriedly.<p>

"I'm not" The one drawing replied immediately. "But it's the only thing we can do right now"

"...It's not that i don't think it will work, but..." the one standing trailed off.

The other one smiled slightly "I know, but you saw that we had a reaction last time too, right?"

"...Yes, I saw it" he said hesitantly.

"Then you know that there's a chance we'll succeed" He made a satisfied noise as he finished drawing the symbols. "There, that should-"

The two men jumped back as a spark of blue light flickered across the drawings.

The smaller man looked at the one who had drawn the symbols in the first place with a look of concern. "Was...was that supposed to happen?" He asked uncertainly.

The other one's face was blank. "I...I don't think so. But it was definitely reacting to the symbols..." he said thoughtfully.

"Then, if it wasn't us...Could it of been someone else?"

"Someone else?" The other one repeated. "You mean you think someone was trying to contact us?"

* * *

><p>Just as Canada had promised, he came, rather early, to help America move the machine. In fact, he came a little <em>too<em> early. Both America and England were still asleep.

"Hey, America? You need to wake up!" Canada tried to say loudly. "We need to move the time machine, remember?"

America answered by groaning loudly, mumbling something about 'Evil Marmite' and being a hero, before turning away from the Canadian in an even deeper sleep.

_Well, that failed..._Canada thought sadly. _I could always try waking England...He should know more about getting a sleeping American up...But wait, was England a lighter sleeper then America or a heavier one?_

"England?" Canada crossed the room to the Brit's hammock. "Please, I can't wake him on my own!" He tried poking him a couple of times, but all this accomplished was making England grumble something about a telling a unicorn to stop it.

A _unicorn. _Really? _Really?_

"Okay, that's it!" Canada had been through many things that could of broken a weak willed person easily. But if there was one thing he found he couldn't stand, it was being ignored.

He grabbed England's arm and attempted dragging him out of the hammock. He may not of looked it, but Canada could be as strong as America if he tried. How else could he of carried that polar bear around when he was just a child?

England hit the ground with a thud. "Wh-what?" He gasped as his eyes snapped open. "A-Amer-?"

"_Canada" _The Canadian said quickly "I'm _Canada"_

"Oh, right Canada" England sighed in relief. "Why are you...?"

"You asked me to help America move his machine, remember?" Canada said "I can't wake him up though..."

England scowled "And why can't you just pull him out of bed like you did with me?"

"From what I can remember, even that wouldn't wake him up very easily..."

"I see" A different emotion set over the Brit's face. "Listen, Canada, you should go on ahead. I'll wake America up and bring him over. You should just wait for us" England said firmly.

Canada blinked at the unrecognised emotion. "O-oh, okay. Are you sure?"

"Yes"

The Canadian nodded uncertainly and started walking to the entrance.

"Oh, and Canada?" Canada stopped just before the opening. "Last night, before I got outside, what did you say to America?" England asked coldly.

"What...did I say?"

"Yes, you didn't say anything unnecessary to him, did you?" It seemed like more of a statement then an outright question, but you could still tell he wanted an answer.

Canada took in England's icy tone, and his blank eyes "No" he said confidently. "I talked to him, but only to see if he was alright. He's my brother, you know?" Canada's eyes hardened. "I don't want to go through this again, just as much as you" he left the room without another word.

England stared after him for what seemed like a hours before turning to the sleeping American. "No one wants this to end as much as me" he said quietly, pulling out a sharp knife from his cloak.

* * *

><p>"S-Sir...You're injured?" The figure in front of the nervous guard had a bandage wrapped around his arm.<p>

"Oh, didn't you know?" The Leader asked dryly. "A thief broke in last night"

The guard's eyes widened as he remembered his job "A-a thief? But...but I saw no one come in last night...Did they-"

"Well, doesn't that obviously show how incompetent you are?" The Leader hissed. He grabbed the mans hair, yanking him down onto his knees. "I hired you idiots to not let anyone in! Or do you not understand that? You wouldn't be so carefree if you knew what they stole! Don't you know what this could mean?" His voice grew colder with every word.

Tears formed at the corner of the guard's eyes. "I...I don't know, sir" he manage to gasp. He wondered to himself how much longer he had to live.

"It would mean that I could lose" The Leader's eyes didn't have the insane humor that they always seemed to have, they were now frozen with some kind of mad anger.

The guard knew he was either going to be punished horribly or killed. He knew that The Leader would never forgive anyone for anything, only a certain few people, and even they would be too scared to do anything that would get him upset, he knew-

He whimpered. He didn't mean to, it just came out on his own.

The Leader blinked in surprise. Something inside him stirred, an emotion he had thought had been dead for years. No, he had felt something similar to it last night, when the thief attacked him. Now, what was it called...?

"Get out of my sight!" He threw the guard onto the floor heavily, trying to ignore the conflicting emotions.

"S-Sir?" The guard didn't even dare to believe what he had just heard.

"I said, go! Before I change my mind!"

The man didn't waste another second. He scrambled out of the room, feeling a mix of fear, relief- and confusion.

The Leader's eyes narrowed. What was this emotion...?

* * *

><p>America was having a fun dream. It seemed like some kind of combination between Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda, which also involved fighting some kind of Marmite monsters.<p>

He was actually kind of sad to wake up.

But when he did open his eyes, he wasn't expecting what he saw.

England seemed to loom over him, clutching a rather large knife. His eyes were dull and unfeeling.

He didn't even seem to notice that the American was awake.

_W-what is he...?_ "England?" America croaked uncertainly. "Why are you...?"

The Brit seemed to snap out of whatever trance he had been in. "Ah, America" he said as if nothing had happened. He hid the knife under his cloak. "Good, you're awake. Canada just came round, you two need to move your time machine"

"R-right" America climbed out of his hammock "Um...England, what were you doing with that kni-"

"Let's go" England cut in. He seemed to of not heard the question. "It'll probably be safer to move it in here. At least then it would be somewhere we can keep an eye on it"

"Yeah...safer..." The American said hesitantly.

England gestured for America to follow him out of opening as he walked away.

America looked towards the entrance sadly. England had told him to trust him. But it was getting harder and harder to believe in him at all.

"What's going on...?" America asked himself distantly.

* * *

><p><em>Another chapter ending XD There is definately somthing wrong with England, but is it really what everyone thinks it is? Is he really working for The Leader...? One more and we'll hit 50 reviews! O-O I'm so happy... :') But please review and tell me what you think XD<em>


	16. Chapter 16

_Confusing people seems to give me one of the best feelings in the world XD ...I must be crazy o_O This is the longest chapter I've ever written for this story ^0^ ...That's pretty sad if you think about it..._

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><p>America looked around worriedly. As far as he could tell, the only other countries that were going on the whole monster fighting thing were England, Canada and France. He had no problem with his brother going, but due to personal experience, he wasn't too sure about how France would do.<p>

And then there was England...Well, it was pretty obvious why America was nervous around him. The moments were the Brit looked just plain insane seemed to be increasing. And that knife thing that morning...it really looked like he had been about to...

And his eyes...why had they looked so cold...? And...there had been a hint of, well, insanity in them too...

_That guy's either losing his mind or possessed..._America thought sadly.

A man stood in front of the crowd of people who were waiting to be let into the tunnels.

"Alright, everyone. As you know, the tunnels are practically a home to The Leader's pets, his creations. We need to get rid of as many as possible to stop them from reaching our village. It's important that you always stay in your groups, as it's easy for you to be ambushed by them when you are on your own. Luckily they seem to rest at night, so it should be fairly safe to sleep. Also, the tunnels have no natural light, except for a few certain parts, so you need to keep a lantern with you at all times"

"How come I don't have a lantern?" America asked suddenly.

"As long as you stay with me and the others you shouldn't need one" England said. America relaxed slightly as he realised England looked...well, normal. Like the England from his time, but a lot older.

He winced as he remembered that morning, and how cold England had sounded last night. No matter how well he knew him in the past, there was no doubt that the Brit was hiding something.

"Shouldn't I get one anyway...? You know, in case I accidently get seperated from everyone, or..." America couldn't help but ask.

"Oh? And why would you get seperated?" It was small, but England's voice had a hint of hardness in it.

"I...I won't...it's just in case, you know?" America frowned. Ever since yesterday, it felt like England had been keeping an eye on him. Almost like he didn't want the American to run away or escape, or...

No. He had to stop thinking like that. He couldn't be so paranoid. England...England was his friend, so that meant he was here too...

Right?

_I know you trust everyone here because you knew them in the past...but people, and countries, do change over time._

"America, we need to go" England's voice snapped America out of his jumbled thoughts.

He realised people were now cautiously walking into the tunnels, talking to each other quietly.

"So I just need to shoot any monsters I see, right?" America tried to ask brightly, pulling out the small gun like thing he had been given.

"Pretty much. Try not to shoot any people though" England warned "Accidents have happened in the past"

"I've used a gun before. I know I have to be careful" the American rolled his eyes, knowing that England wouldn't of been able to see this due to the hood.

England sighed "I'm just worried...Also, don't roll your eyes at me!" he folded his arms, annoyed.

America tried to ignore the Brit's sudden sixth sense. "So...I just pull the trigger on this thing, and-" what looked like a bullet suddenly shot out from the gun as America accidently squeezed the trigger. It hit the ceiling, sending a cloud of dust down.

Everyone in the area turned to the two nations in surprise.

"Er...oops?"

* * *

><p>Japan frowned as he reached for the metal cylinder. Surely it'd be okay if he only took this...?<p>

There had been a lot on the Japanese nation's mind lately. Ever since America had came to their time with the time machine...Japan smiled warmly as he had a faint memory of the time he and America had made that time machine. They had been so happy...But, when America came back after testing the machine, no one had listened to him, to his warnings.

The war had still happened.

Japan knew that the others couldn't carry on with this forever. Soon they would mentally snap.

He held up the cylinder carefully. He had been hoping that this could keep the others motivated, at least for a little longer. But after everything they had been through, would it be really be enough?

They were all so tired of this...of this 'game'...

But...maybe if they told America...would things end up differently?

He sighed. He should of gone to help fight The Leader's pets the moment he had heard America was going. There was too much that the American didn't know.

There was too much that could go wrong.

But...England, Canada and France were all going to be there...Japan's eyes hardened. There was that one person in that group who he couldn't trust. Ever since that person 'came back to life', there had been something...'different' about them.

Japan hid the cylinder under his cloak. He needed to confont England.

* * *

><p>"This is so cool!" America said happily. He turned around, expecting praise for (barely) shooting one of the monsters.<p>

No one was there.

He looked around nervously. How had he managed getting seperated?Okay, America was a little worried when he saw the creatures, but he started having fun after a while. It had been like fighting those zombie animals in Resident Evil.

Although, at one point he saw a snake, which was when he freaked out and ran away (Hey, if Indiana Jones could be scared of them...) That was probably when he got away fron the others. He was just lucky that the Brit had caved in and given him a lantern.

_England's gonna kill me_. America thought with a slight whimper. _And didn't that guy at the start say that we had to stay with our groups? Damn...I'm dead either way!_

America spun around as he heard the sound of footsteps. Was it someone in his group trying to find him?

Or was it one of the monsters? Or maybe even England? Right now, America didn't know which one was worse...

That's when he felt it. That feeling again. The feeling of being watched...

"Who's there?" America asked as he raised the gun shakily. There was a low, yet somhow familiar chuckle "A-answer me!"

"Amérique?" America shrieked as someone tapped on his shoulder "Who are you talking to?"

The feeling seemed to vanish. America turned around hesitantly to find a very worried Frenchman.

"France" America said in relief. He had never been so happy to see him before in his life "I...um...well, this is gonna sound weird, but it kind of felt like someone was watching me..."

"Watching you?" France asked in concern.

"L-look, just forget it. Can you help me get back to the others? Please?" America begged.

France smiled "Of course. That's why I came out here to find you. You know, Angleterre was very upset when he realised you were gone"

"I'm sure that by 'upset' you mean angry"

"It's only because he cares. Angleterre just wants you to be safe, you know that, right?"

"Yeah..." America paused. Could he ask France? "Hey...um...I was wondering..."

The Frenchman looked at him expectantly "Is something wrong?"

"It's just..." America started hesitantly "Is it true that England...died?"

"Ah" France's face darkened slightly "So you heard about that..."

"Y-yeah...Canada told me...But is it true?" America asked. He had to find out sooner or later.

"...Oui" France said after a short silence "It's true..."

Aha, now he was getting somewhere! "But how could he of died if he's here right now?" America pressed.

"I don't know...I really don't know" France looked away from the American.

"Okay, then how, exactly?" _Maybe how he died is a clue about how he could of come back? _America thought to himself. "Did he get killed in the war or something?"

"No...it was after the war..."

"But _how _did it happen" America asked in an annoyed tone.

"Amérique!" France snapped suddenly, causing America jumped back in surprise. "There are some things I'd rather not remember" he wiped away what could of been tears. "But I don't know why they came back. I just don't know. All I do know is that one day they were alive again and that you were suddenly saying something about building a city"

America stared at the Frenchman, surprised about the sudden outburst. Had he pressed him too hard? But...wait a minute...

"_They?"_ America blinked "I...I was only talking about England...And...didn't he come back _after_ the city was built?"

France faultered "You...you don't know?" he shook his head suddenly "Just...just forget it...we should go back...Angleterre will kill both of us at this rate" he made a half hearted attempt at smiling before walking on.

"Hey" America said after following him for a while "I...I'm sorry if I upset you...I just wanted to know..."

"It's fine" France replied a little too quickly "It's just...I was there when he...passed on...and it's really something I don't want to think about. I don't think I'd be able to handle it if I ever saw him die again..." he sighed. "I shouldn't of snapped at you...It's obvious that you would be curious...Oh" he turned around suddenly "Just so you know, it's not a good idea to mention Angleterre's death in front of him. It makes him act a little...strange"

"Yeah, I noticed" America snorted "But...he was acting weird this morning too..."

"That tends to happen a lot" France admitted "But...he's not a bad person Amérique. Even in the past, when we used to fight a lot, I knew that deep down he was good. You can trust him"

_You need to believe in me America. Understand? _What England had told the American last night flashed inside his head. "Yeah...I know..." America said uncertainly.

_But can I? Can I really trust him?_ America was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to hear the faint laughter from behind him.

* * *

><p><em>I was thinking of ending this chapter earlier, but then I figured it'd be too short...I've been listening to the Hetaloid version of Justice Breaker a lot lately, but whenever I do, I think of The Leader o_O Anyway, please review and tell me what you think ^0^<em>


	17. Chapter 17

_Update :) I'm honestly not too sure how to continue this o_O I'm not saying I have writers block or anything, I actually have a pretty good image of what's going to happen. But I'm worried that the things that will happen are a little...farfetched? And there are a few things I can't decide on XD Well, let's get on with the chapter ^0^_

* * *

><p>"America" the American jumped slightly at the sound of his name. He turned around, facing the Brit who had just called him.<p>

"Y-yeah?" he asked, a little hesitantly, expecting England to yell at him for getting lost. America and France had rejoined the group a little while ago, and America was surprised that the British nation hadn't shouted at him. Yet.

He looked to where the others were anxiously. He could see them, but they were pretty far away. America was practically alone with England, and after everything that had happened with him, the American didn't really want to be left on his own with the Brit.

But England didn't look angry. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

"Er...you're not angry?" America almost sounded hopeful.

"Of course I'm bloody angry!" England snapped, but his voice turned quiet again nearly immediately after. "I...I just don't know what to do anymore...When I try to be kind and understanding it happens, but if I try to be strict then it still happens. It's always the same, every single time..."

Needless to say, America had no idea about what England was saying. "Um...England? Iggy?" he asked uneasily.

England blinked in surprise, as if he had forgetten about the American in the first place. "Sorry, I just..." England sighed as he ran his hand through his blonde hair, making it more tangled then it already was. "I don't know what to do anymore...I took that damn thing because I thought it could actually make things different. But even if I did give-"

"You took something?" the American stared at England, obviously confused. "As in you stole it? Seriously, England, why can't you just tell me things straight? I'm sick of everyone hiding things from me..." he said the last part a little more softly.

"...I..." England exhaled, almost as if he was willing himself to continue. He lifted up his cloak slightly, fumbling around for something.

America winced as he noticed something familiar glint omniously at him, strapped to what looked like some kind of belt.

"Got it" England said in some kind of relief. He grasped a small object that America couldn't see very well. "I didn't know why I took it at the time, but maybe..."

"England, what the hell are you talking about?" America tried desperately to see the item that the Brit was hiding in his hands.

The blonde nation looked at the object one last time, as if wondering if he should really go through with whatever he was thinking, before pressing the small thing into America's palm.

"Listen, America, it's very important that you don't show this to anyone from this time" It was faint, but England's eyes were starting to have that cold look again. "No one. Not Japan, France, don't even show it to Canada" England removed his hand from America's, stepping back slightly. "Understand?"

America nodded quickly. Maybe if he just agreed with England he'd turn back to normal sooner.

He looked down at the object, somewhat cautiously. What could be so important that he couldn't tell his own brother about it?

What looked like some kind of over sized pendent rested in his hand. The base of it was grey, but the middle was a raised blue glass orb.

"So...what is it?" America asked after a small silence.

"I suppose you could say it's yours. At least now you can't say I never returned it..." England said, a little distantly.

"Dude, that doesn't answer my question at all!" America nearly shouted. "I'm sick of this, you know that? Why does it feel like everyone's hiding something from me?"

"I...I can't...You'll just-" England bit his lip, frowning slightly. "That device will answer any questions you could possibly have. If you figure out how to use it" he said finally.

America scowled. "And how the hell do I use it? Why can't you just tell me in the first place? Why can't you explain about the rumors, and the way you just disapear, and...and...and _this!_"

America jumped at England, who was too shocked to at the sudden movement to realise what the American was doing. "Wha-?"

He pulled out something from England cloak, stepping back the moment he had a firm grip on it. "And what the hell were you doing with _this_ this morning?" America held up the knife from earlier for England to see.

The blood drained from England's face.

"You were just standing there this morning, with this thing! It...it really looked like you had been about to..." America trailed off when he noticed something. Was England...shivering?

Wide eyed, England took a trembling step away from the American nation. "J...Just put that down, America...Put it down..." Even his voice was shaking. England was holding his cloak across his chest so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

America looked at him in confusion. Why was he acting like..._that?_ It's not like he was literally pointing the knife at England. As far as he knew, he wasn't even holding it in a threatening way! So why was it that the moment he pick up the knife-...

Wait.

The moment _he _had picked up the knife.

America looked from England to the knife, a look of horror spreading on his face. He threw it to the ground, making the blade snap in half.

"England...don't tell me that I...that I actually..." America didn't even want to think about what could of happened.

The British nation visibly relaxed once the knife had been broken, although he was still holding his cloak closely.

"It's fine, America" England tried to smile reassuringly, but it was strained. "It's just something that happened a long time ago. Really, I'm just over reacting"

"I...But-!"

"We should go back with the others" England said hurriedly. "It would be bad if we got seperated" America could almost hear the silent _'again'_. "We should be setting up camp for the night though, so we shouldn't be moving too far from here..."

Before America could ask anything else, England quickly went to the rest of the group, not looking behind him to see if the American was following.

Which he wasn't.

America huffed, glaring down at the small object in his hand. _How is _this _supposed to answer anything? _He thought angrily. _And...England said he was over reacting...but...did I really do something to him...with that knife...?_

He kicked one of the blade pieces away in disgust. He didn't know what his future self did, but if it made England react like that...

He went back to scowling at the item. He wanted to know what was going on. All everyone was doing was giving him half answers, if you could call them that.

America poked the blue part of the overgrown pendent. It was cold, and had given off a sort of hollow sound when he had touched it. He pressed it again, harder.

This time there was a clicking noice, and the blue part lifted up, as if it was a lid.

America gasped. The inside was glowing a sort of electric blue. There were buttons outlining it, but were all dull, in contrast to the rest of the object, except for one. There were noticeable wires, but it was obviously some kind of machine, a device.

Despite everything, America couldn't help but smile. _This _was the the type of thing people saw when they thought of the future, not the dry, desolate place he was in now.

Not thinking about what he was doing, America pushed the only lit button.

There was rushing noise in his ears, and America's vision was suddenly filled with blue. It was if the floor had just _vanished. _But he couldn't tell if he was falling up or down. He felt dizzy...He...

* * *

><p><em>...Ugh...What happened? <em>Was the first thing America thought when he came back to his senses. He tried moving, but then found something strange. He was already moving, in fact he was walking.

America tried to stop, but his body was moving on it's own.

_What the...? What's going on? _He panicked, realising he couldn't speak either. He had pressed the button on that weird machine, and then...

He was walking down a very familiar hall. Everything looked worn away and dusty, and there were definitely a few other things different from the last time he had been there, but there was no mistaking it.

_This is Japan's house..._America happened to notice his reflection in a window. Although he was generally the same person, he didn't reconise the clothes he was wearing, and he seemed...older...

Out of nowhere, America doubled up, gasping at the sudden pain in his chest. He coughed violently, immediately covering his mouth with his hand, flinching slightly when he pulled it away at the specks of blood.

The pain faded slightly, allowing the American to stand up properly. He stumbled a little as he tried to walk away, but grinded his teeth in some kind of determination.

"I'm...not sick..." the words were so soft that America could barely hear them, even though they had come from his own mouth.

He went up the stairs, and hesitated near the door that America knew lead to Japan's room.

"Japan?" he called, opening the door.

The Japanese nation looked up in surprise, placing the book he had been holding down on a small table.

"America-san?" Japan asked, but then smiled faintly. "It's good to see you again. I was starting to get worried that..." he trailed off, and stepped closer to the American nation.

America couldn't help but notice how..._ill_ Japan looked. He was extremely pale, and it was obvious that the Japanese man had lost a lot of weight because of the way his faded clothes hung of him.

"I'm fine" America smiled, almost sadly. "I'm probably the only one who isn't completely ill"

"But you still are" Japan pointed out. "I think maybe it'd be better if you stayed in bed, or-"

"I told you, I'm fine! And anyway, you're a lot worse then me" America said firmly. "Hell, you shouldn't even be up!"

Japan nodded. "I...I know that. It's just...I've been researching something, and..." he stopped himself. "Um...have you heard anything from anyone else...?"

America sighed "Well, I've heard from Canada, but he sounded worse then you. And...I haven't heard anything from England..." he grinned, a little shakily. "B-but he's probably alright! He's England!"

Mentally, the American had no idea what was going on.

_So...Me, Japan, and Canada are sick? _He asked himself. _Seriously, what the hell is going on? I don't remember any of this! And why do I look older, and-? _

America's eyes would of widened in realisation if he had control over them.

_Is this..._He thought slowly. _...Is this one of my future self's memories? _He tried to focus on his and Japan's conversation to see if that would answer anything, but they were now talking about what they had been doing since the last time they had seen each other. _That must be it! Wow, that's...kinda cool...and a little creepy..._He (mentally) frowned. _So...is this before I turned evil? Me and Japan are getting along, and I'm definitely not acting insane..._

There was a sound of footsteps, causing both nations in the room to turn around. France entered the room, closing the door behind him. It looked like he was in the same condition as Japan.

"Japon, and Amérique too" France's eyes were red, as if he had been crying. "I...I..."

"France?" America asked in alarm. "You look terrible! But I guess it's good you're alright. You should-"

"Wait, Amérique, I...It's Angleterre, he's-!" France sobbed, fighting back tears.

"France!" America felt a lump form in his throat. There was no way... "What...What's wrong with England?"

* * *

><p>"America?" the American's eyes snapped open. Canada peered down at him nervously. "Are you alright?"<p>

He accepted the hand that Canada had offered to him, using it to help himself stand up. America stil felt disorientated from the sort of out of body experience, but still somehow managed to hide the device in a pocket under his cloak. "Y-yeah...What happened?"

"I couldn't see you anywhere. I went looking for you and I found you collapsed out here..." Canada explained. "Did you faint?"

"Yeah...I must of..." America didn't want to mention the machine. He didn't want to know what England would do if he found out that he had told Canada...

"Well, we're just about to set up camp for the night. But if you feel sick, maybe you should-"

"I'm fine!" America laughed. "I probably just hit my head or something. Let's go back to the others"

Canada nodded, a little reluctantly, and began walking back to the rest of the group. This time, America followed.

But he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. He could of found out exactly what had happened to England!

America's hand closed around the small object in his pocket. What exactly was it? It had let him see The Leader's memories! England had given it to him and said that it'd tell him everything he wanted to know, so he must of known about that. And why wasn't he allowed to show it to anyone?

He pushed these questions aside. _If I look through my future self's memories_... America thought _...Then should I be able to figure everything out?_ He smiled. _Hell yeah! I'll finally be able to get some answers!_

"America?" he was snapped out of his thoughts as Canada called him again. America must of stopped without realising.

"S-sorry!" he said sheepishly, running the rest of the way to his brother.

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><p><em>End chapter XD Sorry I haven't been able to update, but I've been at work experience this week XD Although, it pretty much has the same hours as normal school, so I guess really I'm just making up excuses...^^' Anyway, please review and tell me what you think ^_^<em>


	18. Chapter 18

_Wow, everyone _really _wants to know what's going one XD Sorry, but that won't get explained until the end ^^' _

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><p>To America, the sleeping bags that had been handed out to everyone looked like unwanted cloaks that had been badly sewn together. The main purpose of the sort of sleeping bags were to keep everyone warm while they slept, and didn't provide any comfort from the hard ground. And since the fabric was extremely thin, it didn't do that job very well either.<p>

He tossed and turned unhappily in his bag. How the _hell _was he supposed to get to sleep?

For some reason, everyone decided to split up and camp in smaller groups. Somehow he had ended up with England, France and Canada.

_It's not just England. _America said silently. _France and Canada...It's like they don't want to leave me alone for too long either...So what if I got lost a few times, that doesn't mean they have to watch my every move..._

America shuffled slightly, bringing out the small device England had given him earlier. There was no way he was going to sleep that night, so...maybe he should try and look at his future self's memories? It was pretty creepy, but...it was the only way he'd be able to find anything out...

He pressed the blue glass surface, allowing it to open. According to Canada, he had been passed out when he had used it the first time, so no one should notice if he did use it...

His finger hovered over the only lit button. Did he have any choice over which memory he saw? Or was it completely at random? America's eyes widened as another idea came to him. His future self went, and still is, crazy. It was that war and, judging by that memory he saw last time, a few events after that had finally caused him to snap. So...if he saw what happened...would he end up like...?

He shook his head. He was the present (or was that past...?) America. He hadn't been through half of the stuff The Leader had. He'd be able to handle it. He should be able to...

America breathed in deeply, and willed himself to press the button.

He braced himself for the fall he knew would come, squeezing his eyes shut as a bright blue light filled his vision. The rushing noise in his ears was back, and he was definitely drifting away. It almost felt like his soul had left his body...

* * *

><p>He blinked at the sudden sunlight. It had been completely dark in the cave, so the light the would of been considered normal was almost blinding.<p>

America lifted his hand in an attempt to shield his eyes, but then realised something.

_In the other memory I couldn't move at all 'cause it was from The Leader's point of view. _America thought. _So why can I move now? This is one of his memories, right?_

"What do you think we should do, France-san?"

America spun around, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. Not too far from him, France and Japan were standing next to each other, talking to each other quietly. Even though they didn't look as bad as when they were in the first memory, they were still very pale. Their clothes were worn and ripped in some places.

He stepped closer trying to hear their converstion better.

France coughed into his hand violently, but tried to act as if it was nothing. "I don't know. Everyone...everyone is sick. I'm surprised that the only ones who have died so far are-" he was cut off as he went into another coughing fit.

"But, surely there must be _something _we can do" Japan said firmly.

"Is there? We can't just increase imports to other countries- that would only kill us quicker. The only country that has supplies to spare is Amérique, and he's been acting extremely...distant" France

Japan frowned. "That's true...Ever since England-san-" Japan's eyes widened, as he noticed something behind France. "E..." he stepped passed the Frenchman, who turned around curiously. "...England...san?"

"England?" America stared at the British nation, knowing that he was most likely inaudible to the other nations. Judging by the other two countries's reactions, this must of been after England had died.

The Brit didn't look sick, like Japan and France. He was thinner then the England from America's time and the future, causing his muddy, slightly torn clothes to hang off of him. His hair was tangled worse then ever, and his eyes just looked..._tired._

"A...Angleterre?" France choked. "How...You're alive? B-but I saw...I-I was there..." he shook his head, fighting back any tears that were threatening to form. "...Is it really you?"

"...Yes..." It was quiet, but still easy to hear in the heavy silence.

"England-san-!" Japan ran up to him, closing the distance between them. France quickly followed. "E-excuse me, I... you're back, this should be a happy time...But how? You were...you were definitely..." Japan seemed to have trouble finishing that sentence, leaving the word '_dead_' to hang in the air.

England shook his head. "I'd...rather not talk about it...if that's okay..."

"I...I suppose that's alright, for now" France smiled weakly, and then did something America really didn't expect the Frenchman to do to his life long rival. He hugged him. "You're alive, you're okay...That is what's important right now"

The Brit didn't struggle, like America _would _of expected. But at the same time, he didn't return the hug. Instead, he closed his eyes tightly, as if he was trying to prevent his own tears.

"Yes, it's a miracle, isn't it" America blinked. That...had been his own voice. But he hadn't said anything, so...

The British nation tensed, his eyes snapping open sharply. France pulled away from his friend, frowning at something behind England.

"Amérique?" France asked uncertainly. "Is that you?"

America would of thought that they were talking to him if it hadn't been for the footsteps behind him.

He turned around, trying to see who this new figure was, and nearly screamed as cold, somehow darker, eyes met his own. America stepped back, trying to reasure himself that they couldn't see, no matter how much they unnerved him.

The Leader smiled at the three nations, the smirk looking very out of place with his harsh eyes. "France and Japan? So you're both alive...I suppose that's good..."

"Amérique...?" France frowned, but tried smiling again. "Look, Amérique. Angleterre's alive! C'est incroyable!"

"Yeah, I guess that is amazing" the smile was gone, and was now replaced with a somewhat bored expression. "Right, England?"

England was the only one who hadn't turned to see America's future self. At the mention of his name, he jerked slightly, before practically running away.

"A-Angleterre?" France stared after him for a few seconds, but then started to chase after the British nation he hadn't seen in so long.

Japan looked between The Leader and the direction the two rival nations had gone. "A-ah, what should-?"

"Forget about them" The Leader cut in. "They'll have to come back eventually. Besides, I have an idea you'll really want to hear..."

"...And...what kind of idea would that be?" Japan looked at him uneasily.

The smile was back, wider then before. "I'm glad you asked. You know the reason everyone is getting sick, right? Because of that damn war, all of our resources were exhausted, millions of our people were killed, and nearly all plants and trees were destroyed. This effected us countries, our bodies, so badly, that it's almost like we're suffering from an illness"

"Y-yes, nearly everyone knows all of this, America-san" Japan said confusedly.

"So, what if we all came into one place? It'd be easier to give people and nations like us food and water. We could build a sort of city, a new place for us to live. We're linked to this Earth, to our home. What if we made a new connection to a different home? And this new home had all of the resources we needed?"

"I...I suppose..." Japan said slowly. "That if we had a new home to call our own country...We might eventually get better..." he shook his head. "But that logic is flawed. Even if we did build a new home, one that could fit everyone, there's no saying that we'd automatically connect to that home. Our lives are also based on our culture, and that has nearly vanished for practically every country. All because of that war..."

"That's true, but can you honestly say we have another option?" The Leader watched the Japanese nation expectantly. He knew that Japan had no choice but to agree with him.

He was right.

"Very well...I suppose we should try and tell other countries and their people too. At least, it'll be easier to look after the weak if we're all together" Japan gave in, almost unhappily. "But, won't it be hard for some to travel? Many are very sick..."

The Leader shrugged "If they die, they die. If it's any time before we're able to build the city, then that means they were too weak to of been any use"

Japan's head snapped up, as he stared at the future America in disbelief. "A-America-san...S-surely you can't think that...!"

"What? Haven't you ever heard of 'survival of the fittest'?" His eyes were now now dancing with a dark mirth. "There's no problem if the useless die"

"T-that's horrible, America-san-!"

"That's enough" England was back, but was staring at the other two blankly. "That's enough, America"

"Oh, hey, England" the future America said casually, before chuckling. "You came back. So, do you wish to continue our 'game', or have you given up this time?"

England's mouth opened to retort, but before America could hear his answer, his vision blurred, and he was suddenly surrounded by a blue light...

* * *

><p>America's eyes snapped open. He panicked slightly when he realised he couldn't see anything, but calmed down as he remembered where he was.<p>

_So I just saw another memory..._America sat up, willing his eyes to adjust to the darkness. _My future self...was definitely crazy there...And that 'illness' they were talking about, was that...Was that what killed England?_

He sighed standing up. He really needed to think about things, and didn't people pace when they wanted to think? As long as he didn't go too far, he should be fine. And the monster things were supposed to sleep at night too.

He lit his lantern, deciding he would make less noise if he could actually see where he was going. After stuuffing the small device into his cloak, he started stepping over the other nation's sleeping bags, wishing his footsteps didn't sound so loud in the silent cave.

_Okay, I've got to be _really _quiet so that I don't wake up the others. They'd kill me...No matter what the England from my time says, I can be super silent when I want to be. All I've got to do is make no noise. Not. A. Sound. Simple. I can do that. I'm the Hero! I can do anything, even-!_

America stopped his random series of thoughts, as he had just accidently kicked England's sleeping bag.

Kicked England's...Oh, hell.

England stirred in his sleep, mumbling something incomprehensible under his breath.

The American nation swore as quietly as possible._ Please don't wake up. Please don't wake up. Pleasepleaseplease-_

"America...?"

_Shit. _"H-heya, England" America squeaked.

"Oh, it's the past America. Hello" England smiled sleepily.

America wondered why the Brit wasn't yelling at him yet, since his eyes were open and everything, and then questioned if England could possibly still be half asleep. _I guess it's better then wide awake..._ "Yep, it's the past America" he tried to whisper cheerfully, kneeling next to the British country. "But listen, Iggy, you need to get back to sleep. Then you can fight those...um...those weird stone angel things. You even have that Flying Mint Bunny to help you"

England's smile softened. "Flying Mint Bunny too...? Yay, I haven't seen Minty in years..."

"Really? What happened to it?" America asked, truly curious about the winged rabbit. He'd never admit it, but he had actually seen the bunny, flying around England happily at a Halloween party. But he had quickly decided that he was hallucinating, since he and everyone else had been drinking to celebrate the party.

"Don't know. All of my friends disappeared when the war started" England suddenly sounded so..._sad. _"I haven't seen any faires since..."

"I-I see..." America felt guilty, even though he knew he couldn't of had anything to with the disappearance of England's magical friends. "Well...I'm going to go...Goodnight, Iggs. Good luck with the monsters, and...stuff"

England nodded, closing his eyes. "Mmm...Oh, America? Do you...Do you think you could promise me something?

"Er...Yeah...Sure" America said uncertainly, wondering what the half asleep Brit could possibly want.

"Promise me...that you'll stay a good person..."

"Huh?" America wondered if he had misheard him.

"Stay a good person. If we get past this part of the game, and you get to go back to your own time, promise you'll still try to help people, that you'll keep your sense of justice" he started to frown. "...That you won't end up like-..."

Even though England seemed to have trouble finishing that sentence, it was obvious what he meant. "I promise. Don't worry, I'm not going to become The Leader, alright?"

England sighed, in some kind of relief, before turning away from the American, in an even deeper sleep then before.

"...Night, Iggy" America fought the urge to ruffle England's hair, as he might of done if the Brit had been a sleepy child, and not a country that was over hundreds of years old, and had really been scaring and confusing him over the past few days.

He smiled gently, standing up so that he could finally get past the Brit.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing out here, America?" the American jumped, but then realised he knew that voice.<p>

"Canada, you scared the hell out of me..." America gasped, turning to face his brother. "I wanted to go out for a walk so that I could think. Just for a bit. How did you find me here, anyway?"

"I was keeping watch tonight" Canada explained. "It wasn't exactly hard to follow you"

"Oh...Yeah, I forgot" America laughed awkwardly. "But you didn't have to follow me. I was being really careful not to get lost...this time. You guys should really trust me more-!"

"America, no!" Canada jumped forward, pulling the American nation towards him. The sudden movement was so unexpected to America that he let go of his lantern. It fell down, illuminating the sickeningly deep drop that America had been about to fall down if Canada hadn't stopped him. "Be careful!" The Canadian scolded.

"Y-yeah..." America said distantly, only snapping out of his trance when he heard a splashing sound. "Is...is that water down there?"

"Sounds like it. It's probably an underground lake or something...Hey wait, you almost fell to your probable death! How can you be so calm?"

"Well, I didn't fall. You stopped me" America grinned. "Thanks for that, bro!"

"Yeah, well I...Hey, you've lost your lantern now!" Canada said suddenly. "How are you going to explain that? Unless you want to jump down and try and get it back..."

"Hmm...Well, I could-"

"It was a joke. Don't actually do it"

America pouted. "Yeah, yeah...I guess you want me to go back with you..."

"Exactly. Let's go" Canada grabbed America's arm, and began dragging his brother back to the campsite.

"You don't have to pull me!" America said annoyedly, somehow retrieving his arm from the Canadian.

The two of them walked together silently, before Canada decided to speak again. "So...You said that you went for a walk so that you could think...What were you thinking about?"

"Huh? Oh...Just..." America sighed. "Hey, Canada? Did I ever do anything bad to you and England after I turned crazy?"

Canada blinked. "Me and England? Well...Define 'bad'"

"Did I ever do anything to hurt you?" he asked, remembering the way England had acted when he had picked up the knife.

Canada thought about this answer for a second. "No...You didn't do anything bad to me or England after you...snapped"

"Then..." America gulped. "How about before? After the war, of course, but before I turned fully evil"

"America..." Canada said sadly. "...You never did anything like that to me. Let's just leave it at that"

"But, why can't you just tell me?" America said angrily. "If you're worried you'll upset me, then don't worry, 'cause I can take it. Even if..." he lowered his voice. "Even if I did something bad to England"

"America, you're going to wake England and France!" Canada hissed. America realised that they had arrived at their campsite. When had that happened? "You...You should just go to sleep. I'll try and explain later, okay?"

America huffed, but decided that he might as well give in. Canada could be stubborn when he wanted to be in his time, and he doubted that that had changed. "Night...I guess..."

Canada smiled at him as he watched him go back to his sleeping bag. "Night..." he said softly.

The American immediately felt uncomfortable as he lay down on the hard ground. How could France and England sleep so peacefully? Or maybe they were just used to sleeping like that...That thought sent another pang of guilt through America, which he tried to get rid of by closing his eyes tightly. The sooner he got to sleep, the sooner morning would come. And then he could fight monsters, and his brother _might _answer some of the questions he had...

He frowned at the sound of shuffling. Had he fallen asleep? Someone was definitely moving around now...Maybe it was Canada?

He turned over sleepily, trying to figure out who could be up.

England was standing up, holding a lit lantern, as he made his way to the other side of the cave they were in.

America sat up slightly. _What's he doing? Sleep walking? No...I think his eyes are open..._

The Brit walked down to one of the tunnels that lead away from their campsite. America stared after him for a few seconds, before making his decision.

He got up, and quietly started to follow the British nation.

* * *

><p><em>Leaving it in an awkward place~ XD It's the summer holidays now, so I've had more time to write XD But I'm going away on holiday for two weeks this friday :) There's a cafe with free internet, so I might be able to update at times, but not as often XD Anyway, please review and tell me what you think ^_^<em>


	19. Chapter 19

_I lost The Game so many times while writing this chapter...XD_

* * *

><p>You'd think that following a light would be easy in total darkness. But America quickly realised that this was not the case.<p>

He had to stay a significate distance away from the British nation, so that England didn't see him and demand to know why America was following him. But this meant that America could see the light and nothing else.

He trailed after England, into one of the many narrow tunnels. There were many fallen rock littered on the ground, which meant America had to walk extremely carefully to not fall over and give away his position. It was hard enough to not make any noise at all.

There had been one scary moment, where he had tripped over what America dubbed as an 'evil invisible rock'. He managed to stop himself from crying out, but that didn't stop him from grazing any bare part of him and causing a huge bang to sound out and echo inside the tunnel. England had turned around suspiciously, wondering what could of caused the noise, while America tried to stay as still as humanly possible, mentally praying he just looked like a pile of rocks, or anything that was natural, really.

Thankfully, he got his wish, as England shrugged and continued down the tunnel. America held his breath as he attempted to pick himself up, wincing whenever he made the slightest noise, sucking in air from the pain from the scratches on his arms and legs.

He would sometimes hide behind larger rocks, looking from behind cautiously. _What's he doing up so late, anyway? _America thought, as he peered from another large rock. _Is he going on one of his 'errands' again? _He sighed quietly when he felt confident enough to continue following the British nation. Whatever England was doing, he was going to find out.

Eventually the tunnel opened out, into a wider cavern. America panicked at first when he realised he was in the open, diving onto his knees behind another rock. He didn't really care how much noise he made at that exact moment.

England carried on walking, worrying America for a second that he'd have to get out of his hiding place. But then the Brit jolted to a stop, obviously startled by something.

America looked from behind the rock. England was talking to someone, wide eyed. America couldn't see who it was, exactly, but they seemed shorter then England...

The British nation stepped closer to the stranger, illuminating the other person. America's eyes narrowed. Was that...?

_Japan...?_

America blinked in confusion, watching as the two island nations talked to each other. England seemed to of gotten over his inital shock, and was now, to America's surprise, _smiling._

Japan handed England what only could be described as a metal cylinder. England stared at it skeptically before laughing. The laughter bounced off the walls, causing the Brit to clamp his hand over his mouth. It took everything America had to not snicker himself, at the worried expression England was wearing as he looked around, as if wondering is anyone had heard him.

The laid back atmosphere between the two countries was suddenly gone, and their faces turned serious. They were still talking, but about something that was obviously important.

America stared at them desperately. He couldn't hear anything, he could only see their faces. A few words did drift towards him, but they were too faint for him to make sense of them.

The word 'game' was suddenly heard, very clearly, making the American shiver for some reason, The way they had said it...Wait, hadn't half asleep!England said something about a game? He frowned, trying to think back.

_'If we get past this part of the game...'_

...Okay, and what the hell was that supposed to mean? America fought back a groan. Any questions he had were only met with more questions or very half hearted answers. To say that the American was getting annoyed over the whole thing would be the same as saying the sun was hot.

He moved closer, crawling behind other large rock. Sharp stones were digging into his hands and knees, but he ignored them, focusing on getting as close as possible without getting caught.

"...What if there was a chance he could get it back?" America stopped when he realised he could hear them clearly, leaning his back against the next big rock in a sitting position. Japan had been the one who had just spoken, in a quiet yet serious tone.

"...I suppose...But how would that be possible? After everything that has happened..." England answered, almost sadly.

Japan sighed. "I know..." He paused, as if hesitant to continue. "England-san...Don't you sometimes think it'd just be better to..."

"To kill him?" England finished for him. He laughed coldly. "Believe it or not, I've already tried that. But of course, I couldn't do it" he glared down at his feet, muttering. "Of course I wouldn't be able to do it..."

"I understand, England-san. I really do" Japan said gently. "But you must understand, if there is truly no way for him to get it back, it could be our only option"

_Who are they talking about? _America asked himself silently. _And get what back...? _The blood drained from his face suddenly, as another idea came to him. _C...Could they be talking about...me? _The thoughts were numb, and it took a while for him to realise what his mind had just said. _S-so that thing with the knife...England really had been about to-!_

He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. Why would they try to kill _him. _He was the good America! The one from the past! If he died, the future would change, and-...

America stared down at his hands dazedly, another realisation entering his mind. If he died, The Leader would of never existed.

If he died, that future would of never happened.

"America" the American nation yelped at the sound of someone saying his name. He looked up shakily, meeting England's emotionless eyes. "How much did you hear?" England asked, his voice cold. The light from the lamp made him look almost evil.

America tried to stutter an answer, but found whatever made his mouth work had decided to abandon him at that moment.

"America-san? How long were you...?" Japan joined England, a look of surprise on his face.

The American looked between the nations. Two of his closest friends, who had just been discusing how to kill him. Two of the countries he trusted the most in the world...

No. The England and Japan from his time were his friends, not the two in front of him. Canada had warned him, right? He couldn't trust anyone from the future.

"America?" he jumped slightly, shuffling away from the two island nations. He wasn't going to lie. At that moment, he was absolutely terrified.

"L-leave me alone!" America hated how high pitched his voice sounded, but it was all he could say when England took a hesitant step towards him.

"America, listen" England began softly, as if he was trying to reasure the American. He took another step forward. "I don't know what you think you heard, but me and Japan are your friends. You have to trust us" Another step. "Okay...?"

America jumped up to his feet, shaking. He stepped away from them slowly, before turning around fully and running in the opposite direction.

"Amer-? No, America! Wait! America!"

"America-san! It's dangerous! Please, America-san!"

America choked back a sob, ignoring the voices. Why? Why did it have to be _them _who betrayed him? His friends...

He ran into one of the narrow tunnels, not caring where he was going. He was blind in the darkness, every sound would echo endlessly in the empty tunnels, disorientating him greatly.

He tripped, falling heavily onto the ground. He bit his tongue, feeling sharp stones lightly pierce the skin on his hands.

Footsteps sounded from behind him. "America?" He didn't move. He barely breathed out of fear that England would hear him. "Please America. I'm not going to hurt you, I'm trying to protect you!" England sounded desperate, as if he was close to panicking. "Please...I don't want to watch it happen again...I..." America heard what could of been a frantic sigh before the British nation seemed to move away.

He waited until he couldn't hear England's footsteps anymore before slowly getting up. How strange. Just a few minutes ago, he had been following England. But now...

He wiped his hands on his cloak before running again. It was as if his mind was split. On half was asking America why he was running from England. The other was asking why he wasn't running _faster._

* * *

><p>When America had first left for the future, Japan didn't know what to expect. The machine had immediately disappeared in a flash. But as the few miniutes that America promised turned to hours, the Japanese man found himself getting increasingly more worried.<p>

"He'll be fine..." Japan had tried to tell himself. "He's America-san..." Even so, he couldn't stop the pesimistic thoughts from entering his head.

_Something terrible must of happened. _Japan found himself thinking. _But what can I do? We only had one time machine..._

There was a buzzing noise, snapping Japan out of his thoughts. _Oh...It's America-san's phone again..._America had left his cell on the table in Japan's living room and it had been vibrating with unanswered calls ever since the American had left. Japan had to wonder who could be trying to reach America, but of course would never answer it. Answering a phone that belonged to someone else would be so rude...

He jumped as his own phone started to ring. "England-san?" Japan asked hesitantly, checking the name on the caller ID in case he was mistaken.

"Good, Japan" England said in relief. "Sorry to bother you, but have you heard from America at all? I've been trying to call him for ages, but he's not answered at all. He's probably just sulking because I snapped at him earlier and ignoring me, but..."

"Ah" Japan said awkwardly. "Well...America-san _was _here a few hours ago, but not anymore..." he answered truthfully. _At least I now know who was calling America-san every five minutes..._

"Oh, well...Do you know where he is now?" England persisted.

"No...But..." Japan attempted laughing, almost nervously. "It's _very_ possible that he is in the future..."

There was a long pause.

"Er...What?" England blinked. "...The future?"

"I-if you can come to my house later, I'll try to explain what happened" Japan said hurriedly. "I'm sorry if you're busy, but it'd be nice if you could help me figure out a way to find him..."

"...Okay...? My meeting should finish in about an hour, so I can try and get to your home after that..."

"Thank you, England-san" England stared at his mobile for a few seconds after the line went dead.

_The future? _England thought skeptically. _How the bloody hell did America end up in the future? Is that even possible? Ugh...that idiot's going to get himself killed..._He sighed as he heard the call that his break was over, and began to walk back to the meeting room.

His phone started to ring suddenly. "Hello?" he asked irritably. "Can you make this quick? I have a meeting I need to get to"

"...England...san...?"

"Japan?" England asked. Didn't he tell Japan he would visit later? "Is something wrong? Sorry, but I really am in a hurry..."

"...I see. England-san, I don't know what time you're in, but I'm guessing you're at the stage where America-san went to the future?"

"You just told me two minutes ago!" England snapped. "And how is that possible in the first place?"

"I can't explain, not now. But, England-san, you should brace yourself. I don't know what's going to happen next, but it could effect your involvement in the game in this world"

"...What are you...?" the line was cut off.

Later, when England went to Japan's house, the Japanese nation swore he knew nothing about the second phone conversation. After explaining to England what had happened, England was silent for a few minutes, sitting in the chair Japan had offered to him.

"Okay," he said finally. "I have an idea on how to get him back to our time" England stood up, pulling something out of the pocket of his suit.

"Really?" Japan said hopefully. "That's great, England-san! What do you think we should..." he trailed off when he saw what England was holding.

England presented a magic wand and piece of chalk confidently. "We use magic" he said, completely serious.

Japan decided that it'd probably be a while before he ever saw America again.

* * *

><p><em>Oh, England XD I do actually think he can use magic, but I think it's funny how everyone thinks he's crazy because of it XD And a little sad...But now we've seen what happened with present (past?) England and Japan XD ...I'm...not really looking forward to writing the next chapter...something bad's going to happen...That's all I'll say, but you might be able to guess...Anyway, please review and tell me what you think ^_^<em>


	20. Chapter 20

_81 reviews...Wow, just wow XD I know that a lot of stories have more, but that's a real accomplishment to me XD I'm having a few problems with this story, since there are some plot holes and stuff that I really need to fill. And when I do try to fill them they just sound so unrealistic...But then, this is Hetalia, so...XD Oh, and I wasn't really looking forward to writing this chapter...you'll see why...T-T_

* * *

><p>A black cloaked figure stood in the tunnels, barely visible in the darkness. He sighed, leaning back on to the wall, not caring about the slight damp feeling.<p>

_The Leader told me to wait...He didn't say, but he's obviously going to 'visit' the past America..._The figure seemed to slump slightly. _I don't know why I'm surprised. It's always the same thing...But those two just never give up..._

_Why doesn't he understand that it'll never work? He's so damn persistent, even though it's obvious that he's losing his mind...Does he really think, after all of this time, that things will work out?_

He chuckled coldly. Fine then. If they were that intent on it he could let it continue, just for a little while longer. He had The Leader's trust, after all.

He would be able to carry out his plan soon.

* * *

><p>America stopped, gasping in a doubled up position. How long had he been running for? It could only of been a few minutes, and usually he could run for a lot longer without breaking a sweat! So why was he having such trouble breathing...?<p>

He sighed, turning back to the opening that lead to the pitch black darkness he had emerged from. Having to dodge rocks he couldn't see and fear in general obviously weren't a good mix when you were fleeing for your life.

He was still having a hard time believing what he had heard. _England...Japan..._America thought sadly. _They both hid me from the others, they even defended me when I almost blew my cover at that meeting...But were they really planning to kill me the entire time? _America blinked away tears that were threatening to form, mentally blaming them on the room he was in at that moment which, for a reason he was too depressed to think about, seemed to have a source of light.

What was he doing? Heros...True heros would easily give up their lives if it was to save the world. That was pretty much the only time the main character would die at the end of a film- because they were protecting others.

But...he was still scared. He was a country, which meant he was practically immortal. _Practically. _America still aged (albeit, _extremely _slowly. In fact, the American nation hadn't physically aged at all in over a hundred years...) and he could still die. He wasn't sure what would happen if he did die, no one was. Most countries thought that as long as their nation remained, they could live through most serious injuries and would be born again if they truly did die. Although, again, no one was truly sure as they never actually saw it happen. Would he be re-born, back in his own time where his people were? Or would his country continue to thrive without him?

_Wait..._He thought slowly. _If I die, then this future would of never existed. But it would of had to of existed for me to of died in this future...So, what? If I die in this future would I be erased from history or something? What kind of messed up paradox is that?_

It was then that America actually took the time to look around the room. "Where...?" The only way he could describe the room he was in was that it was some kind of church. The pews were either worn away until they were barely recognizable or missing completely. Rocks and other pieces of rubble were spilling out on to the altar through what had probably once been the windows. However, at the top of the window was a small opening where the rubble had not reached, allowing light to spill through.

_Light...Does that mean it's morning? _America was grateful to see natural light, even if it had only been a few days since he had arried in the future. Any light in the underground village had been artificial from the lamps hanging on the walls.

America walked forward, his footsteps echoing slightly on the bare floor. Even with the light, there were still many areas of the buried church that America couldn't see very well. He could only just make out another opening, similar to the one he came from, at the very back of the altar.

He didn't have time to wonder what could of been beyond the sort of doorway, as the sound of running suddenly came from behind him. He turned, just in time to see England appear in the opening he had been in a few minutes ago. America's stepped back, eyes wide as England's own locked with the American's.

"America..." England was breathless from running. His arms were stretched out so that his hands were holding either side of the wall, possibly to support him but America couldn't help but think that it was so that he couldn't get past the Brit. "Please...You have to listen to me!"

"Why should I?" America tried to keep his voice even, to stop himself from sobbing again. "All you've been doing is hiding things from me! And...You and Japan...you were talking about killing me!" He quickly looked behind him, wondering if he should take his chances and run for the other opening at the altar.

"No, we weren't talking about you!" England stepped towards America slowly, as you would wih a scared animal. "We're trying to help you!"

"Yeah right!" America was almost yelling. He stood his ground, even though the British nation was getting closer towards him. "What the _hell _makes you think I'm going to believe you, after everything that's happened?"

England stopped, now only a few steps away from America. "Please...It's too dangerous here...I know that I haven't explained anything, but you just need to trust-"

"That again?" America cut in angrily "You keep telling me to trust you, but how can I? All you do is dodge questions! And at first, I was wondering why everyone was suspicious of you!"

"...I-!"

"Canada's the only one who's even tried to tell me anything!" America continued, eyes narrowing. "He was trying to warn me about you!"

The British nation looked like he was about to argue, but paused. "Canada...? Why would...?"

"And you and Japan are supposed to be my friends!" America was seeing red, suddenly unaware of anything except releasing everything that had been building up for the past few days. "I don't understand how you could do this! I know that if I die, then The Leader would die too, but I thought you were trying to help me! I thought that was why you wanted me to go back so much, why you were hiding me from the others! But no, you and Japan were just tricking me so that you could stab me in the back! Even though I really did trust you...You..." America furiously wiped away any angry tears, trying to pretend they had never been there in the first place. "_I hate you!_"

He was brought out of his rage as England slapped him suddenly. The noise echoed loudly in the empty church, shocking the younger nation in to silence.

America brought a shakey hand to his now red cheek, almost as if he was having trouble comprehending what had happened. He winced as his light touch only brought a sudden increase of pain on the sore side of his face.

"Would you stop acting like such a spoiled brat?" England hissed, causing America to slowly meet his now steely gaze. "For the last bloody time, I'm trying to _help _you. But no matter how many times I tell you, no matter what I do, you always end up getting _killed. _Do you think I _like _watching that, over and over again?"

"What..." America began distantly "What are you...?"

A laugh. A low, cold chuckle that sounded all too familiar to the American. To his surprise, the blood started to drain from England's face as he stared at something behind America. "No..." he said quietly, his voice barely a whisper "No...No...Not now...Please..."

"I must say, England, this whole thing is starting to get just plain boring" America froze. The voice behind him...That sounded like..."You say that you don't like watching it, yet you still insist on continuing this. When, exactly, will you give up?"

America willed himself to turn around, already having a vague idea of who could be there.

A figure stood at the altar, dressed in a brown cloak similar to America's own, the hood pulled firmly down. He could just make out an unsettling smirk on the stranger's lips.

"Y...You're..."

The smirk only grew. "So you're America...Nice to finally meet you...Although, I've been watching you for a while" The figure began to slowly remove their hood, as if they had all of the time in the world. "You know, I used to be called 'America' too. But soon, everyone started calling me something different. Now there are only about two others who still refer to me by my old name" The hood was gone, revealing the coldest, yet familiar, pair of blue eyes America had ever seen. "I wonder, can you guess what my new name is?" The Leader's predatory smile did not reach his eyes, which were scanning the American in a sort of icy curiosity.

"The Leader...You're my future self?" America had pictured in his mind what would happen when he finally met The Leader. He had imagined himself being fearless, defeating his future self and saving everyone before going home. But after everything that had happened, he found himself shaking under the other America's regard. There was something about the eyes, the unkind eyes that contained a dark hint of insanity.

America didn't want to admit it, but...he was scared.

"America" England stepped in front of the American nation, not looking away from The Leader. "Run" he said firmly "You need to run"

"Wha-?" That was when America did something he would later regret. He glared at the Brit, moving to the side, away from him. "You...You're trying to trick me again!"

England looked at him in surprise, almost sadly, but then quickly shook his head. "I'm not! Please, for once in your life just listen to me!" he begged, not able to keep the slight sob out of his voice. "You have to get away from here!"

"Why? Why should I listen to you when all you do is hide things from me?"

A purposely loud sigh came from the altar, making the two English speaking nations turn to the other who was still at the front. _Oh right, my future self...Damn, I forgot about him..._

"I actually thought it was going to be fun this time" The Leader's eyes had lost all interest, and were now focused on something in his hands. "Guess I was wrong...Well, I suppose we might as well end it here..."

A gun. America felt his blood run cold as his future self started to smile madly at the handgun. He couldn't move, not even when The Leader pointed the gun at him.

"No, don't! Please!" It was England again, shouting desperately. "America! America, run!"

_He can't shoot me. _America told himself. _He can't. He's the future me. If I die, then so does he..._

Even so, America braced himself, closing his eyes as tightly as he could when The Leader squeezed the trigger.

* * *

><p>"France?" the French nation grumbled something, blinking up at the person who had woken him.<p>

"Ame-...No, Canada" France corrected himself sleepily "Is something wrong?"

Canada looked at him worriedly as France started to sit up. "It's America and England...They're gone"

France blinked, looking over at the two empty sleeping bags. "Que? Where...Where are they?

"I don't know...But I have a really bad feeling about this..."

There was a shuffling sound in the dark, causing the two nations to jump to their feet. "Who's there?" France asked warily, before continuing, a little unsurely "Amérique? Angleterre? is that you?"

The shuffling turned into a series of hurried footsteps, getting closer and closer. Eventually a figure they had not expected to see entered the light coming from the lamp Canada had lit.

"Japan?" Canada asked, eyes wide.

"Japon? Why are you here?" France relaxed at the sight of the Japanese nation. At least it was someone they knew... "It's dangerous to walk around here on your own"

"Th...There's no time to explain" Japan breathed "We need to hurry! America-san ran away. England-san went after him, but...but...!"

" Calm down, Japon" France said reasurringly, placing a hand on the smaller man's shoulder "I'm sure that if Angleterre went after him Amérique will be fine. You know that-"

"N-no!" Japan interrupted "You don't understand! The Leader...I think The Leader's here!"

France paled slightly at the mention of The Leader.

"How do you know?" Canada asked coolly.

Japan's expression turned puzzled for a spilt second before he answered "I...I just do...Please, we have no time! We-!"

A gunshot rang out, followed by a very heavy silence.

"Wha..." France was the first to speak, a little shakily "What was...?"

"No..." Japan whispered "No...no...please..." He shook his head, his eyes hardening "We need to go!" He said urgently "We need to go to where that gunshot came from! Maybe if we hurry, we can..." he trailed off, starting to run for the opening that lead into the tunnels. "Hurry!"

* * *

><p>The gunshot was deafening. America didn't really know what to expect from getting shot. Pain? However, he felt nothing, and instead heard a loud gasp from in front of him.<p>

"_Damn_...That wasn't supposed to..."

America's eyes snapped open, wondering what could of happened.

_England._

The British nation, who was stood in front of America, fell to the floor, clutching his stomach in obvious pain.

"England...?" America asked slowly, the gravity of the situation beginning to dawn on him."England...Hell...Shit, shit, no, England!" He was on his kness now, kneeling next to England helplessly. He realised that the nation's hands were covered in red from his wound. "Y...you jumped in front of me..." America said quietly "Shit! Why the _hell _would you do that?"

"I told you...I told you to run..." England said faintly. He smiled weakly "Sorry...I'm really sorry, America..."

America ripped off a piece of his cloak with ease, pressing it against England's wound "D-don't apologize! You're going to be fine, alright? You can't die!" He winced when he felt his own hands grow damp with blood "You're a country. You can't die, okay, Iggy?"he said gently.

"Maybe...Maybe if this was your time..." England sighed softly "But this is different...I don't have people anymore...I barely have a culture anymore...I-" He coughed to the side suddenly, blood trickling down his lips.

"E-England!" America glared up, expecting his future self to still be there. But The Leader was gone. _That...That bastard! Did he run away? _"Hold on, England!" he pulled him closer, trying to lift him up carefully. "The others...I'll take you back to the others, they'll know what to do! Just...Just stay awake, okay?"

"...I don't mind..." England sounded so weak, it was obviously getting harder and harder for him to speak. "I...I should of died...a long time ago...But, you wouldn't-" He stopped as he started coughing violently, bringing up more blood.

"Please..." America sobbed shakily "Please...England...!" His vision blurred. _No...Don't cry! If you cry, that means you've given up! Don't cry! Don't..._

He barely heard the footsteps behind him.

"America-san! England-san!" It was Japan, running towards the two nations, followed by France and Canada. "What-? ...England-san..." They stopped, seeing the two figures clearly.

"...M...Mon Dieu...No..." France said numbly.

"Japan...France...Canada..." America began tearfully "Help him...Please...Help him..."

France ran forward, guiding the American's arms until England was gently laid down on the floor. "So much..." he looked at the Brit's blood soaked clothes sadly, trying to push back his own tears "He's lost so much...Japon, i-is there anything...?"

"I...I don't know..." Japan kneeled down with France and America, his face ashen "I'm sorry...England-san, I'm so sorry...I, I could-!"

England shook his head slowly, his eyes dull. He tried to say something, but he didn't seem to have the strength to talk. Instead, he attempted mouthing the words carefully.

Japan nodded as he appeared to understand "Okay, England-san...I know how you feel about this, but none of us want you to die...Not even America..."

America looked at him bewilderedly. What was Japan saying? Of course he didn't want England to die!

"How...How did this happen?" Canada asked carefully.

"Eng...England was protecting me..." that was all America could say at that moment, with a slight bitter undertone.

"Jap...an...France..." England managed to choke with great difficulty "...Ma...Make sure that...America doesn't...do anything stupid..." He chuckled quietly but then winced at the effort.

"England...!" America sobbed urgently "You can't-!...I'm _so _sorry...!"

England shook his head again. He smiled gently, trying to speak again, but had used the last of his strength on his last request.

America squeezed the smaller nation's hand "I...England, I'm-!" He stopped, the breath suddenly caught in his throat. England's eyes were still open, but had now lost all light. "E-England...? Hey...England, this isn't funny...Say something!"

_Silence._

"...No...Angleterre..."

"E-England-san-!"

"St...Stop..." America whispered distantly "Stop it...This isn't funny...Come on, your eyes are open..." He grabbed the lifeless Brit's shoulders, shaking them angrily "England! England, wake up! England!"

"Stop it, America!" Canada snapped, faltering when he saw America tear streaked face "I mean...He's..." He sighed heavily, grabbing America's arm. "Hey...We should...We should go back to the campsite...It would be bad if _he _came back..."

America looked at him in shock as he was pulled to his feet. "N-no! I...I'm staying with him...! You can't-!" he struggled in Canada's suddenly iron grip. "You can't just leave him here!"

"We...can't exactly take him with us either" Japan's voice sounded so...broken. France wiped away what could of been tears half heartedly. "His body will fade away soon, anyway..."

"But...! But...! No..." America struggled again, harder "Let go!"

"America...Please don't be difficult..." Canada said sadly, attempting to drag America from the body.

"No! Let go! I...I...!"

_England...!_

* * *

><p><em>T-T...I just killed off my favourite character...This idea had been here from the very start...I don't know why...Now I'm sad T_T This was my first time writing a death scene, (and also a slap scene o_O) so I'm sorry if it's not that good...*unhappy sigh* Now you see why I wasn't looking forward to this chapter...Um...Anyway...Review and tell me what you think, as always... :)<em>


	21. Chapter 21

_I'm sorry about the last chapter :( everyone was super sad about England, but in my warped mind, it's kind of important for the story..._

* * *

><p>America felt...empty. He had expected himself to feel depressed, to cry and yell. But...There was nothing...<p>

The other three seemed to realise that it'd be best to leave America to his own thoughts, especially after he had managed to tell them _who _had killed England.

"We should rest for now" France, strangely enough, seemed to of taken charge of the small group of nations. Although he was acting strong, he would occasionally have to wipe away threatening tears. "We...we can hold a small funeral in the morning...He deserves that much..." His voice cracked slightly, and he had to look away from the other miserable countries.

"...I'm sorry..." Japan said sadly. "If...If I only I had gotten here faster..."

"Why _are _you here?" this time it was Canada, not bothering to hide the suspicion in his voice "Why would you come out here on your own? You know how dangerous it is. And you seemed to know exactly where we were camping and even where England and America were..."

"...What are you implying, Canada-san?" Japan almost seemed to be challenging the Canadian. France looked between the two nations confusedly. They weren't exactly arguing...but it wasn't exactly a friendly conversation either.

"...Stop it..."

"I'm not implying anything" Canada huffed, turning away from Japan. "But..." he continued thoughtfully "You suddenly seem to know an awful lot. Why is that?"

"Do I need to remind you what happened to the last person who was mistrusted?" Japan said coolly. "It only happened a few minutes ago"

"...Just...Stop it..."

"The reason people didn't trust England was because he never told anyone anything!" Canada said bitterly "If he had just explained everything, then no one would of had a reason to be suspicious of him!"

"You know that England-san-"

"_Stop it_!" America's sudden and somehow broken yell startled everyone, drawing everyone's attention to him and dissolving the tense atmosphere. "Just stop! I'm sick of these damn conspiracy theories! And can you guys argue at a time like this? When...When England's-!" He shook his head, starting to step away from the other three. "...I'm going to bed...I'll...see you all in the morning..."

America shuffled into his sleeping bag, hearing a few mumbled apologizes between Canada and Japan.

_This future really is different..._America thought sadly._ The Canada and Japan from my time would never argue with each other...Especially like that..._

He couldn't sleep, and it wasn't because of the cold hard floor this time. Everything that had happened...Watching England die without being able to do anything...

_It's my fault. _He found himself thinking. _If...If I had run away when he told me to...then he wouldn't of had to...!_

America squeezed his eyes shut, clutching the thin fabric of his sleeping bag. England probably hated him...What if he came back as a ghost to haunt America out of revenge? Not only would America feel even more guilty, if that's even possible, he'd be absolutely terrified too...

"...America-san?" America stiffened at the sound of the Japanese nation. "...Are you awake?" He heard Japan sigh quietly when he didn't reply. "America-san...You musn't blame yourself...If anything, this is all my fault..."

_What is he talking about...?_ America asked himself. _How, exactly, is it his fault? He wasn't even there! He couldn't of done anything to save England...Like I could of..._His _future self wasn't the one who-_

"And England-san wouldn't want you to blame yourself!" Japan continued, more forcefully. "He really wanted to protect you! That's why England-san..." He paused suddenly, stiffling what could of been a quiet sob. "...I'm sure England-san didn't regret what he did. It might be hard, but you need to keep going forward...So that you can try and make a better future..."

America didn't say anything, deciding to pretend that he was asleep. Eventually, he heard Japan sigh again, starting to move away to the over side of the cave. He could hear Japan ask France where he could get a spare sleeping bag before everything fell silent, save for the occasional shuffling when one of the other nation got in or turned around in their sleeping bag.

America exhaled sadly when he figured everyone had fallen asleep. He did want to stop this future from happening, he really did! But...at that moment, he felt so...

He blinked, frowning as he kicked something hard in his sleeping bag. A rock? America grabbed it. No, to smooth to be a rock...

The device. America had completely forgot about the strange, tiny machine that was now resting in his palm. The device that allowed him to see The Leader's memories...

He found himself glaring at the device, tightening his grip on it to the point where he mildly wondered if he'd break it.

_That...That damn bastard! _America mentally yelled. _How could he...How could he do that to England? Even if he's evil, he's supposed to be me, my future self. But to do that..._He loosened his hold on the item slightly, but continued to glare. _How could he...?_

Not really thinking about what he was doing, America tapped the smooth blue surface, letting it slowly lift up. The same button from before was lit, except there was something different about it.

Instead of electric blue, the button was now lit an eerie blood red.

Almost in a sort of trance, America found himself pressing the button.

* * *

><p><em>America felt...strange. He was watching whatever memory it was through his future self's eyes again, but...there was something wrong.<em>

_Everything was almost cloudy and disorted, as if he was under water. His eye sight was littered with black patches that would occasionally take up his entire vision before scattering again. When he couldn't see the blackness, he could only see red._

_So much red._

_It took him a while to realise what was actually happening. America was clutching a somehow familiar knife, staring down at it blankly. He didn't want to think about what the red substance covering the blade could be._

_He squeezed the handle tighter and suddenly, for a reason America didn't know, lifted the knife above his head before stabbing it into the ground. He paused for a few seconds, and then pulled the knife back out only to immediately push it back into a different spot. He repeated this, stapping the red soaked ground over and over again until it was covered in gashes._

_"...What?" A different voice asked the question America had been wondering himself, with an uneasy shocked tone. "America...?"_

_Everything seemed to turn black as America tried to turn around to face the speaker._

_The scene had changed slightly when the darkness cleared. It was the same place, and the ground was still soaked with red. But now England was in front of him, on his knees, and staring at him in an almost petrified way._

_America's chest felt numb. He could barely feel anything below his neck. What was wrong with this memory? It was as if different parts were being cut out..._

_America realized that his own and England's clothes were both soaked with the red liquid, and that the knife he was still holding was now covered even more then before._

_He felt himself frown at England, trying to move closer to him. But England only flinched and crawled away from him. _

_"What...happened?" It was his own voice this time, sounding oddly weaker then usual. He looked down at the knife, as if noticing it for the first time. The red substance...Was it _blood? _Why was there so much of it?_

_England shivered, stumbling onto his feet. "S-someone...Japan! Canada!" he turned, running away "Someone!"_

_America stared after him. England was acting weird...Did the blood freak him out or something? Or..._

_...So much blood...Could he of attacked England?_

_He looked down at his bloodstained hands and the knife one last time before falling to his side suddenly. He...He was blacking out..._

* * *

><p>America bit his lip, trying not to shriek the momement the memory ended. Blood...Ugh, he could still feel it on his hands. He wiped them on the sleeping bag, making sure there really wasn't any blood.<p>

That memory had been different from the others...What, was it supposed to be a part of his future self's gradual descent into madness? That'd explain why everything was so...weird. And possibly why he had started stabbing the ground...

America sighed, trying to remember the memory more clearly. England had looked so scared...Could...Could he really of attacked England?

He gritted his teeth, climbing out of the sleeping bag. He was going for a walk. And not to think this time. America was pretty sure that if he was left to his own thoughts about what happened to England and what his future self could of done to him before this whole thing, he'd probably be sick.

* * *

><p><em>Yeah...leaving it in an awkward place...But I wanted to update...And yeah, that memory was from when The Leader was first starting to go crazy, so it's kind of jumbled :) Because of that, things were left out and there are inaccuracies that won't be explained until much much later...Anyway, please review and tell me what you think ^_^<em>


	22. Chapter 22

_Such a late update, sorry :(_

* * *

><p>America soon found himself at the underground lake where Canada had stopped him from falling to his possible death earlier. He didn't know why, out of everywhere he could of gone, he went there, but he couldn't help but find the extremely faint sound of water below almost comforting.<p>

He tried asking himself questions, mainly meaningless things like 'How deep is the water?' and 'How did a lake get underground anyway?' but it was no use. America couldn't stop replaying what had happened earlier in his mind. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could still see it. He could see The Leader's wild grin, England's pale face as the light faded from his eyes...

He couldn't understand anything anymore. England and Japan had been talking about trying to kill him, right? But if England wanted him dead, then why did he shield America? Why did The Leader try to shoot him in the first place? The Leader was his future self, so if he died, then so would The Leader...

Right?

But America felt too empty to think about that problem. He felt too guilty. England was dead, and he had died trying to protect America. If only he had run away when England told him too...

If only he had actually trusted England, like England had begged him to many times before.

He knew Japan had told him not to feel guilty, but how couldn't he? There was no way England's death wasn't his fault.

Although, there was a small fact that America could take comfort in. _His _England, the one from his time, was still alive. And when America did eventually go home, he'd be there, although probably still annoyed with him.

But...Even if England was alive in his time, that didn't change the fact that unless America changed the future somehow England _would _die, that they'd both end up at that underground church...

And he'd be the one who pulls the trigger.

Dammit...Why did England jump in front of him in the first place? England obviously would of been weaker than America, he didn't have the people and culture the England from his time did. If America had actually been shot then there was a chance, even if it was small, that he would recover.

So _why?_

_I wish the England from my time was here…_America sighed miserably. _At least that England doesn't act completely crazy….Well, not_ all_ the time…And I know that that England would never work for some evil overlord, especially if _I _was that evil overlord..._

He sighed again, closing his eyes and leaning against the hard wall. He couldn't hear anything except for his one breathing and the sound of water lapping against the rocks down below. America was completely alone.

* * *

><p>"So you killed him" It was more of a statement than a question, one that made The Leader's head snap up angrily. "You killed England"<p>

"...Yes" The Leader spat out the answer bitterly, before turning away from the man in front of him.

The hooded figure regarded the man in front of him carefully. It was normal for The Leader to be irritable, seeing as his mood could change as quickly as someone could blink, but this was new for his master. The Leader was pacing around the room, glaring at the ground intently, as if he was in deep thought. He was obviously troubled.

"I suppose it was bound to happen" The hooded man's sigh hid a dark mirth. "He was probably one of the only ones who still actually believed you had at least a little good in you. Even after everything. That's why he stayed so long when this first started. And look where that got him"

"...Shut up..."

"You know, I'm actually surprised this didn't happen sooner, with your little mood swings. I wonder if you're going to get rid of anyone else who apparently cares for you. Me, maybe?"

"Shut up..."

"You can't really blame anyone else for this, can you? It was your own fault. I suppose England probably wouldn't of lasted very long even if you hadn't killed him, since he-!"

He saw the gun before the trigger was pulled, silencing himself as a bullet lodged it's self in the wall, only a few centimeters from his head.

"What part of 'shut up' don't you understand?" The Leader asked coldly, his gaze hard as he glared at the figure. "Continue if you really want to, but believe me, next time I won't miss"

The hooded man bit his tongue, deciding it wouldn't be a good idea to push The Leader any further. No matter how confident he felt around him, The Leader was still extremely unpredictable."...I'm sorry..." He said, swallowing his pride.

The Leader nodded, but did not lower the gun. "I would like to make one thing clear" The Leader said coolly. "I did not mean to kill him. He jumped in front of my intended target. There was nothing I could do"

The other agreed with his words quietly, only relaxing when The Leader put the gun away.

"But there's another problem with all of this" The Leader continued without waiting for a proper reply. He turned away, beginning to pace again. "Because of this I have no idea what's going to happen next. All of the other times might have been slightly different, but they had the same general pattern. This one is just so...strange"

"I'm sure everything will work out anyway" the other man replied. It was true that everything was different from usual, but it'd probably end the same way. It always did.

The Leader nodded again, more thoughtfully this time. "Right...Right….He barely knows anything, there's no way he'll survive…." He said to himself, seeming to forget about the other. "I'll have to get 'that' back too...There's no point in any of this if I don't have it...Dammit...What was he thinking? What did he think he'd accomplish from taking it in the first place?"

"I doubt he'll figure out how to use it properly anytime soon, so it's not like we need to hurry" The hooded figure added.

"True, but-" The Leader paused, eyes widening suddenly. To the hooded figure's confusion, a grin started to form on his lips. "Oh….I see" The Leader laughed loudly, his chuckles echoing off the walls, making anyone who happened to hear the distorted noise shiver in fear. "Well….This is going to be interesting"

* * *

><p>America opened his eyes curiously. What was.…? He shrugged to himself, deciding he had imagined the faint noise.<p>

He sighed. He was probably going to have to go back to the others soon. The last thing he wanted was for them to nag him for leaving the group again. Hopefully they were all still asleep.

America briefly wondered what their past versions, their selves from his time were doing. He had no idea what time it was, but he could imagine they were doing what they normally did. France would be flirting with anything that moved, Canada was probably trying to feed that weird polar bear thing he always carried around maple syrup again, Japan….America bit his lip guiltily. Was Japan worried about him? He had definitely been more than ten minutes by now…..He had been so caught up in everything that he had completely forgot about the Japanese nation…..

But he could always use the time machine to make it seem like barely any time had gone past at all. Then no one would be worried about him or yell at him, or…..

Speaking of yelling, there was also the past England….What was he doing? Had he noticed America was gone? Well, he was probably still annoyed with America…..England definitely sounded it when America tried to call him before all of this…..

Wow…..He had only been gone for a few days and he already missed everyone…

America absentmindedly brought out the blue device again. He missed his home, but he couldn't go back yet. Not until he had saved the future. He needed to keep his mind off things like that….Although, if he did look at a memory another again, how did he know he wouldn't get another one like the last one? It….really looked like he had attacked England somehow…..

He opened the lid of the device, but frowned. Was it just him, or….was the blue light dimer than before? Huh….Maybe it was running out of charge? England never mentioned anything about a charger…..

The confusion only grew for America as a bright blue spark suddenly flashed across the open device in a sort of arc. He dropped it worriedly. Hell. Had he broken it somehow? Great, just great…..

He stood up, backing away as the light from the small device started to increase, almost blinding in the dark tunnels.

"What….the…..hell…." America stopped when he reached a wall, frozen as he continued to stare at the ever brightening light. More sparks were flying now, fading when they hit the ground. What was happening….?

A shape was forming in the light. A person? Who…?

It was only when the light began to fade; when the stranger landed on the ground, looking around wildly, did America see this new person's face, causing the American to fall to his knees in sheer shock. The only light in the tunnel was coming from the small device, illuminating the darkness with a faint blue glow, but there was no mistaking it…..

"….America….?" the new person asked. "What…..? Where….-?"

America screamed, trying to back away, but only ended up hitting the wall again. It was impossible. There was no way…..

"America? What are you-?" The new person tried to step towards him, but this only made America shriek again, a little more muffled as America clamped his hand over his own mouth to stifle the high pitched noise.

"Y-you're not real" America stuttered, squeezing his eyes shut. "You can't be. You….You're-" He paused, opening his eyes again suddenly. It was at that moment that America realised something about this new person. The clothes he was wearing were _modern_….They looked like clothes from America's time. And….His eyes…..His eyes were _younger_…

"America" England said, crouching down so that he was at the shocked American's height. "You look like you've seen a ghost"

* * *

><p><em>Leaving it there because I'm mean and lazy XD Also I haven't updated in like, what, a month? Seriously? Stupid school T-T And about the end, it might seem random, but there is actually a reason for it at the start ^0^ I wasn't really sure if I wanted pastpresent England to go to the future at the end, but I've gone through about three other scenarios in my mind and this one made the most sense to me…..Anyway, please review and tell me what you think ^_^_


	23. Chapter 23

_Earlier update than normal XD Maybe this can make up for the late update last time? ^^' Now, things might be a little drawn out in the next few chapters, at least until I give myself a solid idea of what's happening...I've got the general plot, but a few steps in-between some important things are unclear for me...Sorry, please be patient with me XD_

* * *

><p>Although England would probably never admit it, the past few days had been hell for him. After calling his boss and saying that he was going to be extremely busy with something important for a little while, (of course, his boss wasn't happy with that at all, but what were they going to do, <em>fire<em> him?), he had dedicated his time to trying to find a way to get America back.

However, as his many attempts at using magic failed again and again, England soon found himself growing irritable. What was he doing wrong, exactly? True, there had been a few times where he'd allowed himself to grow hopeful when it seemed like there was some kind of reaction, but it would always end the same. It was almost like there was something blocking his magic, trying to stop him from reaching America.

At first, Japan had thought that the best course of action would be to create a new time machine. Except, it had taken a little less than a whole year to make the first one, and they really didn't have that kind of time. For all they knew, America could have been in terrible danger at that very moment. Which was why the Japanese nation found himself reluctantly agreeing with England's magic idea.

He couldn't help but feel sceptical as England drew another circle on the floor, surrounded by lit candles, and it wasn't about England's promise that the chalk would wash off the floor in his cellar. What if it didn't work again? What if it never worked? They could just be wasting their time, attempting to use an impossible method to save America. And it was his fault. He should have known something would go wrong. Why didn't he stop him?

What happened the last time he watched England try to cast the spell was the only thing stopping him from asking the British nation to give up and help him find a different method to save their friend. The time before, a bright electric blue light had flickered across the symbols England had drawn, vanishing just as quickly as it had appeared. England had said that it had nothing to do with his magic, but Japan couldn't help but hope it had something to do with their situation. What if it was some strange way of America trying to contact them?

And if it wasn't America, then what could it of been?

Japan focused his attention back on England, who was faced away from him. The Brit was now standing in the chalk drawn circle, muttering a few words Japan couldn't hear under his breath. The Japanese nation felt a small sense of unease form inside him, lightly clutching a part of the fabric of his clothing. Why did he suddenly feel so nervous? England had assured him that he had practiced magic for almost as long as he could remember, and that he knew what he was doing. But there was a sort of tension in the air, almost like the calm before the storm.

But England seemed oblivious to the heavy atmosphere. He continued his chant, eyes closed. He didn't see the blue spark flicker across the circle.

"E-England-san!" Japan's eyes widened at the sight of the blue light. It was exactly the same as the one before. Barely a few seconds later, another one appeared. And another. They kept appearing, more and more frequently. "England-san!" Japan called again.

This time England opened his eyes, turning to the Japanese man to see what was wrong. He frowned at the sight of the electric blue light dancing around the circle. No, wait, it was almost like they were bouncing around him.

"Is...Is this part of the spell?" Japan asked nervously. He had to shield his eyes from the increasing blue light which was growing more and more blinding by the second.

"I-I'm not doing this" England looked around wildly. There was no way out of the surrounding light. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for some kind of impact. He didn't know what was going to happen, but even so he braced himself.

He was aware of the light flashing brightly one last time before everything around him seemed to vanish. It felt like he was slowly falling, he couldn't feel the ground. What was happening?

England opened his eyes again, but his vision was filled with blue. Thankfully, however, it seemed to be fading, revealing a faint picture of a cave-like area.

His feet finally met something solid, the area around him now fully materialised. England immediately scanned his new surroundings, stiffened, preparing himself for any kind of attack.

It was hard to see parts of the environment around him, as the only light was a faint blue glow. From what he could tell, he was in some kind of underground cave. However, it did not seem natural. It almost looked like the walls had been hacked away at by a giant ice-cream scoop.

Oh, and America was on his knees in a corner, staring at him like he had grown an extra arm.

"America…?" England asked, squinting through the dim light. Was it really him? Was it really the American nation who had been missing for almost four days? "What...? Where-?"

Whatever reaction England had been expecting, it wasn't for the American to scream loudly, frantically attempting to back away but only hitting the wall behind.

England blinked, thrown off by the frightened response. "America? What are you-?" England took a step forward, a slow, calm movement, trying not to upset the man in front of him any further. But all this accomplished was making America yelp again, more quietly this time as he forced a hand over his own mouth. A few tears were dotted at the corner of his now tightly shut eyes.

"Y-you're not real" England heard America mutter as he tried to carefully move even closer, puzzling the Brit even further. "You can't be. Y-you're-!"

America's eyes snapped open suddenly, showing a weird mix of realisation and confusion as England knelt down to the American's current height.

"America, you look like you've seen a ghost" England said after carefully looking America up and down, not realising the irony in his own words. And how could he? America really did look shaken. He was regarding the Brit; pale faced and shivering slightly. His hair was messy, like it hadn't been brushed in days. Also, what was with the somewhat too big cloak around him?

Eventually, America lifted up a hand and firmly poked England's arm. "Are...Are you real?" he asked, wide eyed.

England narrowed his eyes, quickly going from concerned to irritated. "Of course I'm bloody real! Why the hell wouldn't I be?" He stood up, arms now in an akimbo position as he glowered down at America. "Would you mind telling me what's going on? You've been gone for almost four days! Do you know how worried I've- ...I mean, Japan's been? Also, where the hell are we?" England finished this with a quick glance around the area, but went right back to glaring at America.

But America seemed unfazed by England's outburst, continuing to stare bewilderedly at the British nation. "Y-you're the England from my time?" he choked, not moving from his spot on the ground.

"Yes" England faltered. What was wrong with him? America looked away, gazing at the ground as if he was in a trance. "Are you alright? America? Did...Did something happen?" With a small sigh, England knelt down again. "America...?"

America snapped his head up suddenly. "Hey, um..." He started uncertainly. "...Can I hug you?"

Another reaction England had not been expecting. "What?" England leaned away, a little taken back.

The American nation was starting to smile now, a small relief to England who had been a little bit alarmed by America's lack of usual America...ness. "You're really England? Past England? Or present England, I'm still a little confused about the whole future thing...But you're the one from my time? Th-this is amazing! Also weird, but- I mean, wow! How are you here? Don't get me wrong, you would not believe how freaking happy I am to see you right now!" America was now chatting away excitedly, some of his words so rushed that they were incomprehensible. "But still, how?" he asked, calming down for a few seconds.

It took a little while for England to take in the American's babble of enthusiastic words, and actually mentally form them into a proper sentence. "I-I don't know! Japan and I were trying to find a way to get you back, and then there was a blue light and..." He trailed off, beginning to scowl again. "Wait a second; don't just randomly change the subject! And again, where the hell are we?"

"Oh, right, right!" America shifted from a sitting position to his knees, now barely able to contain his eagerness. "Well, ah, where to begin...? Okay, first things first, we're in the future!" He grinned when England's expression turned shocked, obviously expecting that reaction. "And you've probably guessed this, but we're in an underground cave-tunnel thing. Oh, also there's a lake behind you. Be careful of that, 'cause I nearly fell down that earlier. And guess what? There's a whole underground village thing right nearby, and-!" His expression darkened suddenly. "Oh yeah...And then there's _that_"

England began to stare at the surrounding area again, shocked. Were they really in the future? He knew Japan had told him that America had gone into a time machine, but….

"Wait, what's that?" England frowned, focusing on something a little bit away from the two nations. He stood, walking to the strange object he had noticed. It seemed to be the source of the electric blue light illuminating the cave.

"Oh, that's-!" America ran forward, picking up the device before England had reached it. "This is, um, well, I don't really know what it is either!" He laughed, a little nervously before gazing back down at the object in his hands, as if he was trying to figure something out. "Huh...The light's even fainter..." He muttered.

"Huh?"

America held up the device, showing it to the Brit. "It used to be brighter" America said. "I think it might be running out of power or something"

"Really?" England blinked at the strange device, carefully taking it out of America's hands. Oddly, it seemed to grow brighter in response to England's touch.

"Woah!" America stepped back, eyes widening. "How'd you do that?"

"I don't know!" England hurriedly pressed it back into America's arms, almost as if it had shocked him. "What _is _that thing? Where did you get it from?"

The American nation's expression fell again, making England decide it probably wasn't an easy subject for him. "You see...It's just, I..."

Whatever America had been about to say was cut off as a new voice filled the cave. "America? Are you here? Why were you screaming?"

England glanced at America confusedly, wondering why he had suddenly paled. "This is going to be awkward..." America groaned, quickly closing the lid of the small device and stuffing it into some unknown pocket.

A light began to grow closer from some kind of tunnel connected to the cave, until a figure appeared in the opening. Canada smiled in relief at the sight of America, holding a lantern up. "Oh, good you're he-!" He stopped, nearly dropping the lantern in shock. "W-wait, _England?_" he gasped, the blood draining from his face. Canada clutched the wall, as if he was about to faint. "H-how-?"

"Hey, Canada!" America said airily. "Before you say anything, no, this isn't _that _England. This is the England from my time! Cool, right? Although I have no idea how he got here" He turned to England. "Neither does he, actually"

Canada frowned. "Y-_your _time? W-what-? How-?"

"What do you mean by '_that'_ England?" England asked, glancing at America curiously. "And how is he here?"

"W-well" America looked at his feet, not looking at either nation in the eye. "That Canada over there is the future Canada, and by 'that' England I mean...T-the _future _England" America coughed the last part out uneasily.

"The _future _me?" England felt his mouth fall open. "I...Well, I know you said this is the future, but-" He frowned. "Wait," he turned to Canada. "Why did you react like that when you saw me? You looked like you were going to collapse! And...And you too, America. You were almost hysterical!"

"That's the thing" America bit his lip. He looked up at Canada, almost for help, but sighed when the Canadian turned his head away. "You're kind of...dead"

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><p><em>I swear, these chapters always seem so rushed towards the end... :( But I was really tired by the time I finished this...Well, I hope this chapter was okay, regardless...Please review and tell me what you think ^_^<em>


	24. Chapter 24

"This is new," America said, blinking curiously at his surroundings. It was completely different from the pitch black cave he had been used to. There was nothing except for a pulsating, electric blue.

He could remember, after he was sure the others were either sleeping or just not paying attention to him, he had quietly shown England the device. The future England had told America not to show it to anyone from this time, but the other England was from America's own time…Surely it'd be okay to show him? At the very least, he wouldn't be the only one who was so damn confused anymore.

England had regarded the object with a weary interest. He seemed drained, the events of the past few hours taking their toll. It would be hard for anyone to find out they died in the distant future. Although, England had attempted handling the news calmly, even though America still saw traces of shock and hurt in his briefly widened eyes.

America had left out the details of the future England's death. He was still having trouble coping with it himself, and if he did tell England, then he'd have to explain about his own future self…America wanted to avoid explaining that little detail for as long as he could.

So he told England about the other things in the future. He explained how the future was an extremely desolate world, that hardly anything remained after a devastating nuclear war. He told him how there's an underground village where most of the countries and lots of normal people were staying, and that they were refugees from a giant city that 'a very evil man controlled' (America looked away at his part) Canada added a little bit about the creatures in the tunnels, and that it'd probably be a good idea for them to go back to their camp, otherwise they were in danger of being attacked.

America had quickly realised that explaining what had happened to France and Japan would be more awkward than telling England that he died. He briefly told them that there had been a strange blue light and suddenly the England from his own time had appeared, and that neither of them had any idea how he ended up in the future. He had then stepped back, allowing the two future nations to react how they wanted.

France had stepped forward first, his expression unreadable. And then, surprising almost everyone, he had hugged England. It had taken everything America had not to laugh at England's expression.

"_This is amazing!" _France had laughed in-between England's stunned squawks. "_Say something! Say something rude and cynical!"_

"_W-what the _hell _do you think you're doing? Let go of me!" _This had only made France laugh again. When he did eventually release the British nation, Japan had walked towards him cautiously. And, this time shocking everyone into silence, also wrapped his arms around England in a hug.

America was pretty sure he had shared the same expression as Canada and France. _Japan _was _hugging_ England. As if things hadn't been weird enough.

Japan whispered something to England, something that no one could hear, and England's expression darkened with confusion.

Everyone had been tired still, and they soon returned to their 'beds'. America had caught England's attention and showed him the device.

"_So…what is it?_" England had asked, quietly so that no one would hear them.

"_No idea," _America replied truthfully. "_Your future self gave it to me before he…Um, anyway, it lets me -," _America had stopped. He hadn't wanted to tell England about his future self yet. Should he tell him about the whole memory thing?

England had waited for America to finish his sentence, but grew irritable when it was only left hanging in the air. "_Well? What does it do_?"

America lifted the lid up. "_…This," _he had said, pressing the only lit button.

He had been expecting another memory, but instead he was now in some strange, blue world. Why was he here? Did he do something wrong with the device?

And then there was the fact that America hadn't actually explained to England what the device did. He hadn't really known a better way to drop the conversation. Even if it wasn't the most heroic way to avoid things. In fact, avoiding things wasn't very heroic in the first place. Would England be alarmed that he had suddenly dropped unconscious?

"…America? Okay, _now_ where are we?"

America stiffened in surprise. _How_…? He spun around, and yes, England was standing behind him. America merely blinked at the British nation, deciding that this wasn't the weirdest thing that had happened in the past few days. "Um…I don't know. This doesn't usually happen when I press that button…"

England sighed. "Okay, explain. What the hell _is _that blue thing? And-," England frowned. He was staring at his hands and the rest of his body. Oddly, some of the blue light was covering him, making him emit a faint glow. "This is…" he murmured. He looked up, meeting America's gaze. "America, this place is reacting to my magic."

The American nation rolled his eyes. "'Reacting to your magic'? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Dude, magic doesn't exist."

"Then how do you explain this place?" England's comeback wasn't as irritated as it usually would have been. He was too busy examining the light surrounding him.

"Well…This is the future," America gestured to the blue world around them. "They've probably got tones of machines that we can't understand." America bit his lip, trying to concentrate. He felt weird. It was as if something was trying to pull his mind away from this place. And the force was only getting stronger and stronger.

"You obviously had some idea of what that machine did." England tore his eyes away from the glow, folding his arms. "So? Explain."

America groaned. There was really no getting away from this, huh? "Okay, you see…" America began. "That small device thing, it lets me see my future self's memories." He didn't wait to see England's reaction before continuing, a little reluctantly. "And there's something else you should know…My future self is, well, kind of evil. Well, okay, maybe not _kind of…_From what I've seen and heard about him, and after a little run-in earlier, I can tell he is pretty damn insane. Russia's like a cuddly bunny compared to this guy."

England raised an eyebrow, his expression neutral. He seemed to be searching for any sign that the American was joking, but America was deadly serious.

"And," America swallowed before he continued, not because he didn't want to say the next part (which was completely true) but because it was getting harder and harder to keep the strange force away. It left like the moment he let his guard down he would be ripped away from this blue world. "And my future self is also the one who's in control of that city. He's the one everyone's hiding from." He breathed heavily. He couldn't fight off the pulling sensation for much longer. "A-and, you…You should probably also know that…that…Your future sel-…"

There was one last tug inside his mind, and America suddenly jerked back, quickly being dragged away. The blue world and England's stunned face faded to black.

* * *

><p><em>America was walking down a dusty, unkempt hallway. But he recognised the white walls and the general shape. He was in a hospital.<em>

_He turned, entering a large room. America had to fight the urge to close his eyes and walk right out again. Beds were scattered around, mourning family and friends kneeling next to horribly injured and deathly sick loved ones. Some medical equipment, fortunately for some, had been salvaged and used to treat the hurt and try and create more. As civilisation tried their best to recover, and although the world would never be the same as it was before the devastating war, they had somehow managed to recreate means of gathering electricity. This was mainly used to power the remains of the places that needed it the most, like the hospitals. _

_But it wasn't enough, America soon realised. They were still too far behind. All of the moaning and weeping people in those beds would probably die in a matter of weeks, days…maybe even hours. Even if they did recover, there wasn't much for them to go back to. It was a wasteland out there. _

_He moved past the beds, purposely keeping his line of vision trained to the path in front of him, not looking at the inhabitants of the beds. He had his own reason for being here._

_Eventually he reached another bed, slightly secluded from the other ones. Its occupant seemed weary, even in sleep, as if even that was a difficult chore. Many different machines and medicines had been used to keep their weak life stable, trying to prevent what others had described as the inevitable. _

"_England…" America regarded the unconscious British nation, taking in his snow white face. There seemed to have been no change from the last time he had visited. Had they been right? Was there really no way to prevent it…?_

_But, to America's shock, England's eyes fluttered open. He gaped as they locked on him, evidence of recognition forming in those sunken eyes._

"_E-England!" America ran forward, leaning next to the bed. "You're awake! Ha, I knew I could do it! Everyone said, well, everyone who's still alive, said that there was no way anyone or anything could save you, but it looks like I proved them wrong, huh? But this is amazing! I was honestly starting to think you'd never wake up. And after everything I went through to get you and…" he trailed off. England was starting at him emotionlessly. The present day America knew that look all too well. It was the same cold expression that took over England's features at times, before he had died._

"_Hey, England? Iggy?" America was starting to grow worried. Shouldn't he be happy? He had save him…_

_England's eyes met America's, their emerald hue a lot darker than America remembered. They were devoid of all warmth, of any emotion. _

"…_I should be dead," England's voice was hoarse after weeks of lying unconscious in the hospital bed. America didn't reply to the cold voice, his eyes widening in shock. "I should be dead."_

* * *

><p>America was in the cave again. He rubbed his head, eyes adjusting to the darkness. What was that weird blue world? And that memory…Did that mean that his future self had been the one to bring England back to life?<p>

Suddenly remembering England, America turned to the Brit. England was lying on the ground, unconscious, just as America would have been a few seconds ago. America grew anxious, shaking him slightly. Why wasn't he awake? Was he still in that blue world, wondering what had happened to the American nation?

He felt the burning eyes on him before the voice spoke. He let go of England, who grumbled and stirred slightly. America was too stunned to feel relived about this.

"You know," America squeaked, turning around to face the stranger behind him. He could clearly feel the blood drain form his face as he met icy blue. "You're _really _starting to piss me off…" The Leader was glowering down at him, pure anger somehow evident in his bored expression.

America did the logical thing, something anyone would have done in his situation. He screamed loudly, more out of shock than fear, and reached for the place he had last put his gun.

England was awake now, the sound of America's scream alerting him. "W-what? America?" he asked, staring in the same direction as the American nation.

It was not only England's attention he had grabbed. The other nations in the room either woke up or turned their heads to America in worry, grabbing their lanterns, and rushing to America. The American nation was spluttering wildly as light illuminated the area, pointing to the place his future self had been standing a few mere seconds ago. But there was no point.

He was gone.

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><p>…<em>*Dramatic music* Now, there's actually something different about the memory America received from the other ones, but it is also similar in some way to two other memories he saw…But how? One day this will be explained, but for now…Please review and tell me what you think ^_^ Reviews inspire me to think of plots and update faster :3<em>


	25. Chapter 25

England was finding the future world stranger and stranger by the second. The fact that the only part of it he had seen had been the dark, underground cave wasn't helping. It made him dread what lied on the surface if everyone had been forced to live underground.

And then there was his encounter with France and Japan. France being in the future had upset him enough without the sudden hug. And then _Japan _had hugged him. _Japan. _But that wasn't what had stunned him the most. It was what Japan had said.

"_I told you to brace yourself, right?"_

He had been echoing words from that strange phone call England had received. It hadn't really been on his mind that much, since he had been so focused on finding a way to contact America, but…Could the future Japan have been the one who had called him?

Although, this only raised more questions. How would the Japanese nation have called him in the first place? He hadn't seen much of the future so far, but besides that weird device that America had, they didn't seem to have much technology. He had only seen them use old styled lamps to produce light.

And telling him to brace himself…Had Japan somehow_ known _that England would be dragged into the future?

America's strange blue device also confused England, and not just because the younger nation had suddenly fell unconscious after pressing the button. This had obviously alarmed England, and he had started shaking America's shoulders in an attempt to get some kind of reaction.

The blue light hadn't helped. It had jumped off America as some form of electricity when he had grabbed his shoulder, and England quickly retracted his hand, almost as if it had shocked him. It had actually looked like the same light that had pulled him into the future in the first place.

The sight in front of England blurred. He felt himself sway slightly, and there was a sort of rushing noise in his ears. England was briefly aware of slumping next to America before his vision was filled with blue.

His time in that blue world had been brief. He could remember the familiar sensation as the light surrounded him, but the rest was slightly blurred. England could only just recall what America had told him about his future self being insane. He hadn't had any time to ask questions, as the American nation had suddenly been jerked away and vanished.

England had to wonder if America was serious about what he had told him. America might have been stupid, greedy, arrogant, annoying, obstinate, arbitrary, had a huge hero complex, always spent his money on strange things, never returned the stuff he borrowed…Wait, where was he going with this? Oh, right, but America didn't have the right mentality to be some kind of insane villain. Although he had mentioned something about a war…If America really was telling the truth, then something terrible must have happened.

What had happened after America had been forced out of the blue space didn't make much sense to him either. Swarms of colour and moving objects were suddenly all he could see, making England decide that they were most likely out-of-focus visions. It had felt like a child had been desperately trying to jam two jigsaw pieces from a completely different puzzle together; the 'visions' were not meant for him, and had only succeeded in giving him a headache, so he hadn't been able to understand them.

But from the disturbing things that _had _made sense to the British nation, England decided that was probably for the best.

England found that he did not like groggily waking up to screaming. All it had accomplished was alerting him to some kind of danger that he would have been too tired to understand.

But he could not see anything that would have ignited any fear or shock. The other nations moved towards them, and England stared at America dubiously as he scanned the area, searching for something that was not present.

"America-san, England-san, what happened?" Japan asked, concern evident in his tone and expression.

"I-I…" America stuttered, still rapidly searching the area from where he was sitting. "H-he was-! But he's not-…" The last part ended with a confused tone, and America frowned. "But he was here…He was standing right there."

England first conclusion was that America had finally lost it. But then, America had spent almost four days in a future that was already giving England a headache after only a few hours. That probably gave him some kind of excuse.

Canada kneeled next to America. "Who was here, America? Who was it?" But America shook his head, still frowning at the disappearance of some unknown danger.

Standing only a little bit away from each other, Japan and France were whispering to each other at a volume that no one but themselves could hear. France looked uncharacteristically serious as the conversation continued.

England felt a small bubble of irritation form. The wonder of how he could have possibly entered the future had quickly faded, and now he was being ignored.

"Everyone," France spoke up suddenly, still showing a serious expression. "We should go back. It should still be a little while before 'his' pets start to wake up."

"Huh? Why are we leaving all of a sudden?" America asked.

"It's for the best, America-san. Most of us are still…'recovering' over a certain loss." America bit his lip. "And one of us is not properly equipped to fight against those monsters." England decided that Japan was referring to him and scowled. Oh, and _monsters? Really? _No one had mentioned anything about monsters before.

"And I suppose we've been making a lot more noise then we should. We might start attracting more unwanted attention," Canada added quietly. It seemed like he didn't just mean the monsters.

"Right…" France glanced around the cave. "Let's collect our things. Then we can go home."

'Things' seemed to mainly consist of the sleeping bags and lamps scattered around the cave, and the nations mainly grabbed the ones they had been using or owned. England folded a sleeping bag that, oddly enough, seemed to be absent of an owner. It showed signs of being recently used, but there was no one else for it to belong to. (America had given him a slightly horrified look when he saw him holding that particular sleeping bag. England couldn't understand why, though.)

He watched in amusement as America tried but failed to fold his own sleeping bag. But the blame wasn't solely with the younger nation, as the fabric was too weak and flimsy for anyone to do anything with. It looked like the same material they had used to make the cloaks everyone seemed to be wearing. How the others had actually managed to sleep in them was a big source of confusion for him.

Eventually, England found it too painful to watch and had to step in. "Give it to me," England said, grabbing the bag off America without waiting for a reply, tucking the one he had folded earlier under his arm.

America pouted. "…I could have done it myself."

As a reply, England scoffed, folding the bag one last time. He glanced behind him, finding that everyone else was still clearing up the rest of their things. …Maybe he could ask…He did want to know more, and, although judging from that jumbled explanation America had given him he didn't seem to know much either, America did know more about their situation then he did at that moment.

"So," England started, a little uncertainly. "You future self is evil." Okay, that probably hadn't been the best way to start a conversation.

He wondered if asking that had been a mistake when America stiffened. "Um, yeah…So, I'm guessing that weird blue place _wasn't _just a dream, huh? But, yeah, he's evil."

"…Any idea how that would have happened?"

"The only thing I was told was that there was a big nuclear war that turned him, um, me insane." America's expression darkened slightly, as if he was trying to figure something out. "But…You know that I said I can see his memories with that blue device thingy?" England had actually almost forgotten about that fact, but nodded. "Well, all of the memories I've seen looked like they were based _after _that war…And, well, in most of them he still seemed pretty sane. There was one where he was deep in the evil insanity thing, and another one where he was stabbing the ground for some reason, but…"

England figured that it would be best to move away from the obviously awkward conversation. "Alright then…Wait, why didn't you come back?" England's eyes narrowed accusingly. "Japan thought you had broken the time machine or that you had been kidnapped and were in some kind of terrible danger and that we didn't have much time to find you before it was too late…" He left out the fact that Japan had only implied these things, and that they had mainly been England's own worries.

"I…Well, the time machine _was _broken…D-don't look at me like that! It's fixed now!"

"Then why didn't you come back?"

"I wanted to help them," America mumbled, looking away. "I wanted to help them stop The Leader. Then I could go back and stop this future from ever happening, and I'd still have been an awesome hero." Part of his usual 'heroic' tone was in the last part, but he continued to look away.

"...'The Leader'?"

"You know, my future self."

"Ah." England's expression turned bemused. "You want to fight yourself?"

"He might be me, but he's an evil insane me. If this was a story or something, he would be the villain."

"But how could you fight your future self and then change the future? That would be a paradox, because then your future self would never have existed."

"Yeah…But…"

"And then," England said, a new thought dawning. "If you were just going to change the future, wouldn't it have…'changed', by now? If you were really determined to make things different, then…I don't think things would be like this, exactly."

America's shoulder sagged. "I've thought about that...But maybe it's because we're here? The future can't change if someone from a different time is in it?" he said weakly. It sounded like even he wasn't convinced.

England wondered why America suddenly looked so…depressed. And then he realised what he had just unintentionally said. He had practically just killed any of America's hope that he _wouldn't _turn evil. Damn.

"America," England sighed. "Have you ever heard of the multiple universes hypothesis? Or even, the branching universe hypothesis?"

"Um…Those are time paradoxes, right?"

"Yes. They both involve alternative universes or multiverses. To put it simply, they say that time travel creates different universes."

"…So?"

"_So, _if the rules of those hypothesises were correct, then really it doesn't matter what this future shows. It's more of an alternative universe at this stage, and we don't really know what's in _our _future until we get there ourselves." England was only grasping. He honestly didn't know if what he was saying was actually true.

But he still felt relieved when America's eyes lit up with some kind of hope. "Really?" Not waiting for an answer, America punched the air. "Hell yeah! That means I can be the hero _and _change the future!"

England raised an eyebrow. "…You're going through with that ridiculous plan to defeat your future self?"

"Duh." America grinned. "Hey, wanna help? All heroes need a sidekick!"

"Idiot." But it was half-hearted. England _could _just use the time machine to go back to his own time, but then he'd be leaving America behind, and the moron would probably just end up getting himself killed. Dragging him to the time machine didn't sound fun for either of them…

"Fine," England said. "I'll help you."

Not too far away from them, someone smirked.

* * *

><p><em>I hope this is okay XD Listen, I'm really sorry if this isn't interesting. I know it's just going on forever, and it's probably really boring…I promise, it is all leading somewhere. All questions will be answered someday. Just…not yet…I mean, I've noticed that people have been un-alerting it, and I don't know if that's because people don't like it anymore, or…But I'm really grateful to everyone who's being really patient with me and continuing with it regardless :) Thank you, everyone! :D <em>

_There's really only one big puzzle piece that's stopping everything from making sense, and a few small other pieces…I have hinted what that one big piece is, but they haven't been big hints, so I don't really think anyone will get it XD Sorry, everyone's probably getting so annoyed ^^'_

_Please review and tell me what you think! ^0^_


	26. Chapter 26

The village was exactly the same as America remembered it. He didn't know why, but he had expected some sort of…change, as if the death of England would have caused an uproar or a heavy air of depression. But of course, they had no idea about his death, and the cloaked citizens were wandering around as they normally would. Occasionally, one or two would nod their heads towards him and the others as a sort of greeting.

America could tell that England, the present-day England, was staring at the underground space in wide eyed wonder, even though the muddy brown cloak was hiding most of his face. The cloak had been given to him when the others decided it'd be best to hide his identity for now, just like with America. Unlike America, however, he hadn't questioned the meaning behind the garment or why he had to wear it and put it on without much fuss.

"…Amazing," England said after a pause. "How long did all of this take…?"

Hesitating for a few seconds, Japan answered with, "A very, _very _long time, England-san."

He nodded, accepting this reply. England didn't press for details and continued to stare at the large cave and its inhabitants, even when France patted his shoulder in an attempt to grab his attention.

"So," France said, "What should we do now? We came back earlier than we usually would have…"

Canada raised his hand. "Maybe we should figure out where America and England will be staying? I think staying in 'his' room would be a little, um, troubling after….you know."

America felt his stomach sink slightly. Canada was right; there was no way he could face that room again after what had happened.

"Well, I'm fine with staying with either Canada or Japan," he said.

"Same with me," England added.

France raised an eyebrow. "And what's wrong with me?"

"Everything's wrong with you."

Silence descended as England and France scowled at each other, (Probably. Hard to tell with the hoods…) although the air around them was not very hostile. Japan coughed awkwardly.

"Um, England-san, I would like to talk with you about something, if that's okay. Privately."

"Oh," England blinked, "Yes, that's fine." He glanced back at the others, as if wondering if they would object, but no one seemed to have any problems with this.

"Right." Japan nodded towards America and France. "I suppose we will see you both later, then." He gently grabbed the blonde's arm to lead him away. England looked back again, a little unsurely, but followed anyway.

The American nation stared after them. He was forgetting something, he realised. But what? America furrowed his brow in confusion. Well…It couldn't have been _that _important, right?

"So, what's going on with us?" America asked, turning to Canada.

"Who knows?" France answered instead. "Like I said, we came back earlier than usual, so any jobs we would have been given are not exactly available…"

"Well, um…Maybe we should go and collect some water?" Canada suggested. "I was running a little low the last time I checked, and it's something to do. At least it's more constructive than just standing around here."

The other two agreed to this. America honestly didn't mind what they did; he felt a little…numb after returning, so he didn't feel up to anything too strenuous, and it wasn't like he knew what they did for fun in this confusing future.

But he felt something heavy settle in the pit of his stomach when they reached their destined area. It was basically a hole in the wall, and America decided it was probably some kind of well. There was a rusty looking handle that could be used to send a rope attached bucket down, and when it re-emerged the wooden bucket was filled with (thankfully) clean looking water. The inside of the well seemed to be framed by a sort of metal, so maybe that somehow stopped dirt from getting in the water?

Canada poured some of the water from the bucket into a canteen like thing. It looked like it was made of some kind of leather material. America wondered where the Canadian had been keeping that canteen in the first place.

"Do you want some water?" Canada asked when he noticed America staring.

"Um, no, that's okay. I don't really have anywhere to put it, anyway."

"Then what have you been drinking?" France spoke up this time. "I find it hard to believe that you haven't had any water over the past few days."

"England- er, the future England- did lend me a canteen thing, but…Um, I don't really know where I put it…"

France rolled his eyes and Canada gave him a light-hearted, 'I should have known' expression.

As the French nation began to send the bucket down himself, America frowned. He found himself staring at the small hole in the wall, at the worn looking rope as it slowly lowered the bucket. It was depressing. All it did was remind him of the situation these people, his friends, all lived in, and whose fault it was.

America spoke without thinking. He was lucky that they were pretty much the only ones at the well, as he would have surely grabbed the attention of anyone listening.

"I want to go to the city."

France lost his hold on the bucket, the water it contained spilling back down the well. "…What was that?" he asked after a moment of heavy silence.

"I…" America hesitated at first, but then continued determinedly. "I want to go to the city. You know, to stop The Leader. That's why I decided to stay here in the first place."

More silence, and then, "No, Amérique. You can't." France sighed, now facing the younger nation.

"But why? I just told you, I-,"

"Yes, I know," France cut in, "But…I just can't let you. It's too dangerous."

"Um, yeah. I think I figured out the whole 'dangerous' part when I was almost mauled by a demon dog. But, you know, my future self trying to shoot me was also a big hint…"

"This isn't a joke, Amérique."

"I'm not joking."

Canada looked at them worriedly and tapped America's shoulder. "Hey, um, this isn't a very good place to argue about this type of thing…We can talk about it later, all right?"

But they weren't listening.

"Look," America said, "After everything that's happened, I don't want to suddenly hear that I'm not allowed to help."

"I'm not saying you that you can't help," France replied. "But going to the city? That's suicidal. You would be caught the moment you stepped inside, and that's if you're not killed during the journey."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" America tried to supress the whine in his voice.

France bit his lip, suddenly looking a little uncomfortable. "Amérique, I…" He sighed. "In truth, there's nothing 'helpful' you can do here that wouldn't put you in danger. There's always the chance that someone would discover who you are, especially after that disastrous meeting, and from what I've heard The Leader himself, oddly, wants you dead." France hesitated, looking everywhere except at America. "Listen, Amérique…Maybe it would be best if you and Angleterre went back to your own time…"

A pause.

"…What?"

"Just hear me out," France said when he saw America's stunned expression. "As long as you're here, you're in danger. Even without those other threats, there's too much you don't understand about this time. Wouldn't be better to just go back? You know enough about what caused this, you know about the war, so wouldn't it be better to go back and stop the war from ever happening? I understand how you think of yourself as a hero, Amérique, how you hate to leave people in dire situations, but there's just nothing you can do here."

America looked down. His hands were now tightly balled into trembling fists.

"…But how do I know?" He practically spat out the words. "How do I know that I'll be able to stop the war? Even after seeing all of this, how do I know that I won't lose my mind and become…_that?_ Think about it; everyone's always saying there's a spy because The Leader 'somehow' knows where to send those monsters. It looks like he doesn't know the exact location, but he does know that you're all hiding out here somewhere. But maybe there never was a spy. Maybe The Leader knew because he could remember.

"America," Canada stared at him, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you get it? If all of this has been happening for me, then that means it would have happened for him too. The time machine would have broke, he would have seen all of this and then gone home determined to stop the war…and failed. The war happened anyway, and he went evil and crazy. That means there's a good chance that'll happen to me too." America's vision blurred. He was almost sobbing his words, and he could feel himself shaking slightly.

In all honesty, he was terrified. He could remember hoping that maybe, just maybe, everyone was playing some kind of joke on him. But seeing The Leader in person had killed those hopes immediately. Although, it wasn't The Leader that frightened him; it was the thought that one day, the American nation would become that psychopathic tyrant.

That wasn't what he wanted.

"A-And how do I know, if I don't see it through until the end, that I get stopped? How do I know that I'll stop hurting people? Don't you understand, France? I have to go to the city. No matter how dangerous it is, I need to make sure that he doesn't continue doing this forever and ever…" He looked away before murmuring, "And anyway, I'd rather die than become _him…_

France gripped his shoulders suddenly, forcing him to look into his eyes. "Don't say that, Amérique. You can't just throw your life away recklessly, not after Angleterre gave his own to protect you."

"Yeah? Well, that's just another reason I have to go! England…I-I can't just go home after he protected me like that! It'd be like he did it all for nothing, and…"

"Amérique," France spoke with the same determination America had earlier, "I promised Angleterre I wouldn't let you do anything stupid. No matter what you say, I can't let you go." His expression softened. "I understand why you want to do this, I really do, but…I can't let you. I just can't."

As if exhausted by this conversation, France's shoulders slumped. He walked past America with heavy steps. "I'm going back to my room. Canada, do you think you could watch Amérique for me?"

Canada, who had been watching worriedly, blinked in surprise and nodded. America scowled. Watch him? Did France really have that little trust in him?

For the first few seconds after France had left, neither of them said anything.

"…It makes sense," Canada said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"What you said about your future self remembering all of this. It actually makes sense." Canada shuffled awkwardly. "I…I wish it wasn't true, but it does explain a lot…Why he always seemed to know everything, why he was never surprised by anything…"

America looked at him sadly. The word 'surprised' was circling inside his head for some reason, but he ignored it. "So…Do you think this means there's really no hope? Japan said some things about making a 'better future', so I think he thinks that I can change the past, and England, er, the England from my time said some stuff about alternative universes, but…"

"I don't know." Canada shook his head with a frown.

"Right…Ugh, what's up with Francey-pants, anyway? I told him why I have to go to the city; he knows what I have to do, so why's he being so…difficult?"

"Well, he did promise England not to let you do anything stupid, and most people would consider your spontaneous decision to go to the city a little…well, stupid."

"But Canada-!"

"I'm not disagreeing with you," Canada said quickly. "If you had a proper plan and preparations then I wouldn't have a single problem with this. I'd probably even be tempted to join you. But now…? Like France said, it'd be suicidal. It's a three day trip in those dark tunnels, which are filled with The Leader's pets, and then you have to travel again for practically another day on foot. Without preparing properly, you would die before you even reached the city."

"…Ah. But if I have the right equipment or whatever, then I'd be able to go?"

"Well, you'd still have to get past France and maybe Japan and England, but…"

"And you'd come with me?"

"I-I said I'd be tempted to. I never said I'd actually-!"

"Thanks, bro!"

Canada sighed.

The American nation started humming to himself happily, even as Canada started dragging him away somewhere. Possibly his room? America hadn't been listening. His mood had lifted considerably after what Canada had said. He could go to the city, stop The Leader, and then everyone in the future would be saved!

Although, it wouldn't be easy. He knew that much. Maybe England or Japan would be willing to help him too? At least then it might be easier …D-Did this mean they'd have to infiltrate The Leader's evil lair? Okay, despite everything, this was exciting. The closest thing he had ever done to that was sneaking into Russia's house.

He slowed down. If the whole memory thing was true, then…Did that mean The Leader would know they were coming? Damn. Canada had said that nothing seemed to surprise The Leader, so…

_Surprise. _What was with that word? There was a weird nagging feeling at the back of America's mind. He scowled, trying to concentrate.

_"Damn...That wasn't supposed to..."_

America froze. He recognised those words…He had first heard them after The Leader shot England. But who…?

"But he _was_ surprised," America said suddenly. Canada looked at him blankly. "When….When he shot England, I heard him speak and I saw his face. He was shocked."

Canada blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I _mean _that when The Leader was…well, me, he should have seen his future self shoot England too. He would have known it was going to happen. But he looked so…stunned. The Leader had no idea England was going to die."

* * *

><p><em>Does this count as a dramatic revelation? I really don't know XD I hope this is okay, but at the very start I was hit with some kind of writer's block and I started thinking, 'What am I doing? Where am I going with this chapter?' Well, I did have some idea, but only the end was pictured in my mind XD The rest was a blank to me…But as I continued writing I got more in to it, so…XD Um, anyway, please review and tell me what you think ^_^<em>


	27. Chapter 27

"So, what is this about?" England asked, crossing his arms. His voice had a slight edge to it. He didn't know what Japan wanted to talk to him about, but he hoped it had something to do with…well, everything. Compared to America, he knew practically nothing about this future, and even he didn't know that much. There was a nuclear war, America slowly turned insane…But that couldn't be it. England had seen a lot of strange things in that blue world, and they made him wonder if there was something more to this desolate future.

He also wanted to know more about that phone call. '_You should brace yourself'_…The call had definitely come from the Japan standing in front of him, but what did it mean? How did Japan know that England was going to be brought to the future, and how the hell had Japan managed to call a completely different time?

Japan shuffled his feet slightly. He seemed…hesitant.

"Well?" England pressed.

"I…" Japan sighed. "Well, to put it simply, I need your help, England-san."

England nodded, silently telling Japan to continue. When he didn't, England asked, "With what?"

"I-I don't know if I can say."

"…What?"

Japan glanced away uneasily. As far as either of them could tell, they were alone. "It's just…If the wrong people hear, then 'they' will know. All of this would have been for nothing…"

"So what you're saying," England said, "is that you dragged me out here just so you can tell me nothing?"

"No." Japan shook his head. "It is just a little hard…What can I say that won't give away too much?" He sighed again. "Okay, I will be blunt. I believe The Leader has a spy."

England blinked. "A spy? You mean we're being watched?"

"I suppose you could say that. It is a little more complicated than that, however." Japan frowned, as if wondering how to continue. "Most would probably say that The Leader had sent them to find out about our village. They would say that because of this, The Leader will always know if we try to attack the city and overthrow him. But that is wrong. Spy or no spy, he will know either way. Always. Although, since _that _was stolen…" Japan started mumbling the last part to himself, making it almost impossible to hear, and England stared at Japan with a quizzical look.

"So, if he doesn't need a spy, why bother sending one in the first place?"

"He does need one, but not for the reason everyone would think. In reality, he would want the spy to give him information about the game."

Okay, England was getting _very _confused now. "'The game'…? What is that supposed to be?"

"As I said before, I can't say too much, but…" Japan smiled sadly. "I suppose you could say it is a game of fate. One side fights to fulfil it, and the other fights against. The Leader always wins, no matter what we do, although, in a way, you could also say that he loses at the same time."

After a few seconds of processing what Japan had just said, England shook his head and said, "I don't understand."

But Japan continued as if he hadn't heard him. "My goal here is to catch the spy and stop the game once and for all, and the only way to do that is to win. That is why I need your help, England-san."

"What are you talking about?" England practically snapped. "Look, can you please just stop talking in riddles and actually explain? You say you need my help, but I can't exactly do that if I barely know anything." He folded his arms in some kind of huff. "I don't even know what this 'game' is about, let alone how to win…"

"Well, it is not simple. To win, we would have to make The Leader lose."

"...Japan. That explains _nothing. _Okay then, can you at least tell me this? How does The Leader win the game?"

Japan looked at England carefully. Nothing was said for a few seconds, until Japan bit his lip and told England quietly, "With the death of America-san. The Leader wins the game when he kills America-san."

* * *

><p>America was walking with Canada, the shadow of a confused frown evident in his expression. A little while ago, he had explained how he thought The Leader always seemed to know everything, but...Well, the whole being surprised thing could ruin that little hypothesis. As his future self, The Leader should have remembered that he would have to kill England. America was sure that memory was something he wouldn't be able to forget for a <em>long <em>time.

So why had The Leader not known it was going to happen?

_Can't I go a second without being confused about something? _America thought with a small scowl. Now feeling rather annoyed, he decided to think about something that didn't give him a headache instead. Maybe he should work on his 'defeat The Leader' plan instead? So far, thinking about it optimistically, America's general plan was: 'Go in, defeat The Leader, be a hero.' …Yeah, that'd probably need some work…

Only a little bit ahead of them, there were two brown cloaked figures. They were talking to each other about something quietly, and hadn't noticed the two English speaking nations.

America frowned at them. Their hoods were up, but there was something…familiar about them. But what? He hadn't exactly talked to many non-nations here, except for…

Recognition hit him like a knife. He knew them.

They were the two who had tied him up when he fell underground, the ones who had pointed that gun at him and talked about killing him before England had walked in.

America nudged Canada's arm. "Hey, um, bro? You think we could go a different way?"

"Why?" Canada frowned. "What's wrong?"

"It's just, um…Well, you see those guys other there? I met them the first day I came here, and, well, we didn't exactly get along…"

"Oh…Um, there's another way we can go but it's sort of the long way round. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Thanks, man."

America gave him an uneasy smile, and they quickly started walking in the opposite direction. He wasn't sure if they would have recognised him, but America didn't want to take that chance. He was sure it would only lead to a bunch of unanswerable questions.

Curiously, America glanced behind him.

The taller one, the one who had yelled and pointed that gun at him, stared back.

* * *

><p>"That…That doesn't make any sense." England shook his head. "Why would The Leader want to kill his past self?"<p>

"I'm not sure how, but it just became part of the game," Japan said. "It was originally…different, but then he slowly grew insane, and…" He trailed off, his expression darkening as if he was witnessing an unpleasant memory. His voice was still quiet when he finally continued. "But that is what we have to do. If The Leader kills America-san, then he wins. But if America-san lives, then we'll be able to stop The Leader, and…"

"And we win?"

"Exactly. The game will stop." His voice was suddenly almost a whisper, and England had to lean in to hear him. "It has been going on for so long…England-san and I, the other England-san, have been trying to stop it, but nothing ever worked. Each time, our situation felt more and more hopeless…Sometimes we would meet in secret to discuss what to do next, and we had a similar meeting last night..." Japan lowered his head. "I suppose America-san heard some of our conversation out of context and ran away. I expected us to lose again there and then, but England-san..."

England stared at him. What was the point of such a game? And…why kill America? Also, with the way Japan had been explaining the game, it seemed like it wasn't the first time it had happened…Was that even possible?

"So, England-san…" Japan held out his hand. "Will you help me?"

* * *

><p><em>Gosh, I really hate school sometimes T-T I can't wait for summer holidays, then I will be free to write and read and do all the fun things I haven't been able to do because of exams XD <em>

_There were many times in this chapter where I knew what I wanted to say, but I didn't know how to write it…Does that make any sense? XD So if the wording sounds weird in places, then I'm really sorry ^^'_

_Please review and tell me what you think ^0^_


	28. Chapter 28

Even though the hammocks were much more comfortable than the floor, America still found he couldn't sleep. He tried tossing and turning, clearing his mind of stray thoughts, _filling _his mind with useless thoughts, and even just staring up at the darkness. Nothing worked.

Somewhere in the pitch black, England and Canada were sleeping in their own hammocks. He could hear their soft snores. It was amazing how they could sleep so soundly, especially after everything that had happened. America was still wondering how England had suddenly appeared in the future, even if he hadn't thought much about the subject for most of the day, but the English nation didn't seem bothered at all.

America sighed and rolled over. England had seemed a little…strange when they met up again. He didn't know what he had been talking about with Japan, but it was enough to make him more spacey than usual. The American nation had caught England staring at him occasionally, and he would then quickly look away, pretending nothing had happened.

This behaviour continued for what seemed like hours, until Canada told them it would be a good idea to go to sleep. That was how both of the past nations found themselves staying with Canada with the night, but America didn't mind. Staying in the future England's room would have felt wrong and a little creepy, and America trusted his brother. Canada seemed like the only one who _wasn't _trying to confuse him.

He rolled onto his other side again, wondering how long this would continue before he'd actually be able to sleep, but this action brought some kind of rock or something in his cloak to attention. America frowned. He was lying on something? What…?

Oh. The device.

How had he forgotten about _that _thing? The smooth object was now resting in his hand, and America hummed thoughtfully. Although he had earlier that day, it seemed like forever since he had used it. If he couldn't sleep, maybe he could look at another memory? It was better than doing nothing, and he might even learn something useful.

But when America opened the lid, his finger hovered over the button hesitantly. In the last memory, it had seemed easier than usual to get into the future America's thoughts. He had been aware that the movements and words weren't his own, but it had seemed more like a vague discomfort at the back of his mind compared to the other memories. This didn't seem like a good thing.

An earlier worry suddenly surfaced. Somewhere in these memories was what made the future America eventually snap and turn into the monster he was now. Suppose he stumbled upon that scene? What would happen?

America closed his eyes. He took in a breath before pressing his finger down.

_He was sat on the ground, leant against the wall. The only thing America was absolutely sure about was that his future self was sad about… something. Misery had practically hit him like a wave the moment this memory started._

"_Are you okay, America-san?" There was a bed next to him and America turned his head towards its occupant. Japan was staring at him with tired, sunken eyes._

"_Oh, you're awake?" America attempted a smile. "Um, yeah, I'm fine. How do you feel?"_

"_Much better, thank you." Japan also smiled, but it was strained. He was obviously lying through his teeth. _

_He moved as if about to stand, but America quickly went to his feet and stopped him. "No, you've got to stay in bed. I don't care what you say, you're still sick. If you want anything I'll get it for you, 'kay?"_

_Japan frowned, possibly wondering whether to argue or not. Eventually his expression softened, and he relaxed into the bed. _

"_I understand, America-san."_

"_Good…" America sat down on the end of the bed. He then, fighting against the sadness inside, gave Japan the biggest grin he could manage. "Good. You can move around as much as you like when you're all better, all right?"_

_Japan nodded. A few seconds passed in silence. "Um, America-san…" Japan started hesitantly, "h-have you heard anything from the others?"_

_Any form of a smile quickly left America's face. He looked away. _

"_I-I'm sorry, America-san, I-"_

"_No, it's fine." America's tone was different. He now sounded weary and sad, a voice that should not belong to the normally cheery American. "I've heard from a few others, but…All they tell is that some other country has died or they just haven't heard from them in a while. Then they start yelling. They say I should have done something, I should still do something, why aren't I helping them…" America drew in a shaky breath. It almost sounded like he was trying to laugh. "Although there are a few I haven't heard from recently. No one's said anything yet, so I guess I can still hope they're all right, but…"_

"_I'm sure they're okay, America-san," Japan said, finally allowing America to turn to him properly. _

_America tried to nod, he tried to keep up the strong façade, but suddenly his expression crumbled. His voice shook as he spoke. "But how do you _know? _How do you know they're still alive? Don't you get it? Everyone's just getting sicker and sicker! I'm trying to help them, I really am, but nothing I do is working!" He couldn't stop the tears. He didn't even seem to notice them. "No matter what I do, everyone's dying! I-I thought I could help, I told myself I would find a way to save everyone after England and-!" He sobbed and buried his face in his hands._

_Japan looked at America sadly. But then he leaned forwards, ignoring any pain this probably caused him, and pulled America into some kind of hug. He said nothing as he held the stunned American. _

"_And what about you?" America asked, tears still streaming down his face. He clung onto Japan's shirt in an attempt to latch onto the comfort no one else had given him. "I-I don't want to lose anyone else, not again, but…" he breathed in before asking, "are you going to die too?"_

_At first, the older nation did not answer. He simply continued to cradle America and wordlessly listen to the other's sobs. _

"_No, America-san," Japan eventually said. "I will not die. I swear, I will not die."_

_It was slight, but America's expression darkened._

"…_That's what he said too."_

_This last sentence killed off any form of conversation. America was still crying, still clinging onto Japan, except something had changed. The silence seemed heavier somehow and lacked any of the comfort it had before. _

_Japan frowned but did not move. He sighed. _

"_Listen, America-san… I've been working on something. I don't know what it'll do, and I don't even know where it came from, but I do hope it will help us somehow." America did not answer, but Japan continued anyway. "Working on it has also given me an idea. Well, it is more of a theory at this point… Do you remember that time machine we once built together?"_

And then something happened. America, the present America, wasn't sure what it was, but it felt like something was trying to pull him away. Will a sudden tug, he was yanked out of that memory.

He had no time to react. The only thing he was aware of was spinning and falling through darkness. He couldn't see a thing. Then there was a sudden flash of blue, and…

_America threw the door open and ran inside. He was panting, obviously from running, and he quickly scanned the room quickly. _

_The past/present America decided it would have been a library once. The wide room was filled with the remains of bookcases, and only a few of them contained worn looking books. It looked like no one had visited in years._

"_Japan?" America called. "Are you in here?" He moved further in. "Japan? Seriously, where-?"_

_He stopped. Someone was standing in front of one of the upright bookcases._

"_Oh, England?" America smiled and neared the other nation, who was faced away from him. "I didn't know you were awake. But I guess that's a good thing, 'cause that means you're feeling better, right?"_

_England did not answer. He simply continued to stare blankly at a book he was holding._

"_Have you seen Japan anywhere? I haven't seen him all morning."_

_Without looking up, England shook his head._

"_Oh…" America's face fell but he quickly tried to smile again. "So, um, what are you reading?" he asked brightly._

_Again, no answer. Seconds passed in painful silence. _

_He sighed. "You know, it'd be nice if you talked to me a little… You haven't said a word since the hospital…"_

And then the memory changed again. Just as before, America was yanked away and blinded by a blue light.

_What now? _he wondered just as the light started to fade.

_America opened his eyes with a groan. He felt weird. Fighting the numb feeling in his brain, America glanced around the room. He was, from what he could tell, in the bed Japan had been using. But why was he here? And where were the others?_

_He tried to sit up, wanting to find his friends, but he was immediately stabbed by a searing pain in his chest. America gasped and fell back. He was still flinching from the pain when he looked down._

…

...What?

_His chest was tightly wrapped in bandages. Whatever wound they were hiding was obviously new, as large pools of blood were seeping through the white dressings. The earlier attempt at getting up must have made things worse, as the bandages were slowly being dyed the colour of the liquid red._

_America suppressed a scream._

"_Don't move." Pale faced, America turned his head towards the source of the voice. They were stood in the doorway, tensed as if expecting something and staring at America with their arms crossed._

"_E-England…?" America's voice was shaking. He noticed, with some relief, that a little light had returned to England's eyes. He looked a little like he had before, and the fact that he was talking again was a good sign. But they could talk about that later._

"_What's going on, England? What happened to me?" He couldn't bring himself to look down at the red stained bandages again._

"_You mean you don't remember?" England asked. He crossed the room and was now stood next to the bed, looking down at America in what could have been concern. When America shook his head he sighed. "Well, maybe that's for the best…"_

"_What do you mean? What happened?" America felt a stab of panic. What was going on? The last thing he could remember was… was…_

_Red._

_America shivered. _

_He didn't realise he was trying to sit up again until he felt the pain. It attacked him mercilessly in waves, and America gritted his teeth._

"_I told you not to move!" England snapped suddenly. He practically grabbed the other's shoulders and pushed him down a little too roughly, causing America to gasp. "…I'm sorry," he said gently, "but your injuries are too bad for you to get out of bed." He went to his full height and turned away. "We need to change your bandages. I'll get Japan," England said. He began to move back to the door._

"_Wait, England!" America stared after him and reached out a hand. "Please… I can't really remember what happened, but… I-I didn't do anything, did I? England?"_

_England paused when he reached the doorframe. "…Just stay here. I'll be back soon."_

"_England-!"_

America immediately shot up, clutching his chest and eyes wide. Ugh, the pain, the blood… he could still feel it.

He shakily stood up from the hammock. Three memories? That had never happened before. What did it mean?

The device was still in his hand and he stared at it wearily.

_What _is_ this thing? _he thought to himself. _Why does it let me see The Leader's memories in the first place? …And where did England get this, anyway?_

And then he heard it. A low, cold chuckle.

America spun around. He couldn't see anything in the darkness.

"You're here, aren't you?" America said quietly. "Come out, you bastard."

At first there was only silence, and it continued for so long that America began to wonder if he had imagined the laugh. But then it started again, sounding as if it was emitting from outside the room.

America charged through the opening, the device still in his hand and acting as a source of light. He skidded to a halt and looked around.

"Where are you? What do you want?" His voice was louder now. The blue light was too dim to light the whole tunnel, so there were many dark corners that could have been perfect hiding spots. "_Where are you_?"

The laughter continued.

_Dammit. _America looked around wildly. He could have been anywhere. The idea of that man grinning at him somewhere among the shadows, and waiting for the right moment to kill him as he continued to panic, made America practically scream, "I'm going to stop you! Do you hear me? I don't care if you're my future self, _I'm going to stop you_!"

"…_Is that so?_" America froze. The Leader's voice was cold yet somehow bored. "_And how do you plan to do that? You can't even notice when something important is missing. How can you even think you can defeat me?"_

America had no time to answer. Someone clamped their hand down on his shoulder.

"America," Canada said, "what are you doing out here? What if someone hears you?"

"It's The Leader!" America quickly said after getting over the initial shock. "He's out here! I heard him, he was laughing, and then he…"

Canada stiffened and peered around America. He frowned. "…Are you sure? I can't see anyone."

"Of course I'm sure!" America almost yelled. Canada tried to shush him but America wouldn't listen. "I heard him, Canada! He was talking to me!"

"America…" Canada sighed. "It's not that I don't believe you, but why would he be here? The whole reason we're all out here is so that he can't find us."

"Then that obviously hasn't worked! Besides, he was at that church and that's not too far from here. If he's not here, then how do you explain me hearing his voice suddenly?"

"Well… Maybe it was in your head?"

America stared at him. "Are… are you saying I'm going crazy?"

"No, no! But it's been a long day. You're probably very stressed and very tired. Maybe you were just half asleep or something?"

"But-!"

"Listen, America, did you actually see him?"

"Um…" America looked into the darkness. "I-I guess I didn't."

Canada smiled. "Then it was probably nothing. Like I said, you're tired and under a lot of pressure. Worse things have happened to people under conditions like that."

"I…" America frowned sceptically. "I don't know… I mean, _maybe_, but…"

"Oh, and America?" Canada pointed at the device, which was still in America's hand. "What's that?"

America immediately hid it. "Nothing! I-I mean… It's a, um, it's a nightlight! I brought it from home."

"…Really?"

"Yep!" America laughed nervously.

"Well, okay then. Let's go back to bed. I'm sure you'll feel much better after some sleep."

"Right…" Before America followed Canada back inside, he looked back towards the shadows. He was _sure _he had heard him, but… Was Canada right? Had he really imagined it?

He entered the room with a sigh. Maybe sleeping would help things… Only worrying wouldn't solve anything. Even if The Leader was there, he was probably just bluffing. Like when he said '_You can't even notice when something important is missing'… _What was that supposed to mean? America didn't really have anything The Leader would find worth taking. Besides the device, that is, but he still had that. What else could he mean?

_Wait…_

America felt his blood run cold. He hadn't realised at first, but now it was so painfully obvious. Something _was _missing. Or rather, some_one. _

"…Where's England?"

* * *

><p><em>I am so happy right now, my summer holidays have started! ^0^ No more school for a while, and more writing time, heck yeah! XD<em>

_Okay, there was originally going to be a chapter before this one, but… Not much happened in it o_O It was going to be one of those boring filler chapters where not much happened, and whatever would have been in that chapter was easily condensed into a single paragraph in this chapter XD And I enjoyed writing this chapter much more than I was with the other option, so…XD_

_It's actually been more than a year since I first wrote the first chapter for this story… I've been writing fanficiton for more than a year, wow XD_

_Well, I hope this chapter was okay :) Please review and tell me what you think ^_^_


	29. Chapter 29

"Are you sure?" Francis stared at America with a stunned expression, his eyes still clouded slightly with sleep. He and Japan had both been awaken by a frantic America and sheepish Canada and were now talking to each other in hushed tones.

"Positive," America said. "England's gone."

"It's almost like he vanished," Canada added. "I doubt he just went for a walk; the lamp was still there and you would have to be insane to go out without some kind of light…"

"Then…" Japan said. "Where is he?"

"I already told you, I don't know!" America sounded more than a little frustrated. "Ugh… England wouldn't just randomly leave without saying. What is something happened?"

"Calm down, Amérique." France placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure Angleterre is fine."

"Do you have any idea where he could have gone?" Japan asked.

America paused. He looked to Canada uncertainly, but his brother only shared his expression.

"I…" America started hesitantly. "Before I realised he was gone, I thought I heard The Leader's voice…"

He didn't even have to look to see the blood drain from France and Japan's faces.

"I ran outside to face him, but I couldn't see him anywhere. He might as well have been invisible or something. Canada found me and I figured that I had imagined him, but… Well, The Leader told me something like I 'can't even notice when something important is missing'…" America laughed bitterly. "I guess he was talking about England, huh?"

"America-san," Japan said quietly, "are you suggesting that The Leader kidnapped England-san?"

France shook his head. "That's impossible," he said. "Someone would have heard or seen something. Even if you were both asleep, The Leader wouldn't have been to simply waltz in and grab Angleterre without someone noticing."

"But I did hear something!" America raised his voice slightly.

"Listen." France sighed. "I understand that you're worried, but surely Angleterre would have woken up if something like that happened? He would have kicked and screamed and alerted everyone, he wouldn't just go quietly. There's also the fact that the city is days away, and I find it unlikely that The Leader would be willing to just drag someone there the entire time. Unless you're saying The Leader can teleport now?"

"I… Well, what if I'm right? England might be in trouble, and who knows? Maybe The Leader has invented some weird way to teleport. It'd explain why it was like he just vanished!"

"America, calm down." It was Canada this time. "France is probably right, we would have heard something. I'm sure he's fine."

"But…"

Japan stared at the others, his expression clouded with thought. "It's possible," he said suddenly.

All three countries turned to him.

"The Leader would do anything to gain an advantage," Japan explained. "Anything. If he truly has kidnapped England-san, then he would hope to cause anger and panic. He wants us to act irrationally. He…" Japan looked down. "He's trying to lure America-san to the city."

…

"So what you're saying is," Canada said," if The Leader really did take him, then England is bait?"

"It would seem that way, yes."

"Everyone, let's think logically for a second," France interrupted. "I doubt that Angleterre would allow himself to become a mere damsel in distress. He would fight back no matter what. And how would The Leader manage to come here and then simply vanish? Don't say teleportation, Amérique, that's just not possible."

America's gaze was steely. "Look, France, I'm positive The Leader took England. I _know _he did. I don't care if it's some kind of trap; we've got to go after him. I was gonna stop The Leader anyway, why not do it sooner rather than later?"

"America-"

"I don't care what anyone says, I'm going to the city."

* * *

><p><em>Okay, so a new, although very short chapter. This chapter was more of a transition and a way for me to get this little note across. <em>

_Okay, so… I guess I've been feeling kind of sad about this story recently. I want people to enjoy this, but I've noticed that people have been unfollowing this. I could understand if it had been a while since I last updated, but the last few people who did that unfollowed the moment I uploaded the previous chapter. For about an entire day after I worried, wondering what I had done wrong. I guess I might be overreacting, and it's not even the first time this has happened, but I had really liked the previous chapter so this was kind of a blow to my confidence. I mean, I understand. This story has been going on for a long time, and it probably seems really boring right now. I'm sorry. I promise this fanfic is going somewhere, even if there doesn't look like there's an end in sight._

_But I have decided something. I've decided that, no matter what, I am going to finish this fanfic. I want to make people happy, but I also don't want to leave an idea incomplete. This is a story I came up with, and it was even the first piece of writing I ever published online. I refuse to abandon it. This came from my mind, so I will see it through till the end. I'm sorry to those who are tired with this, but The Desolate Future is continuing until the day it finishes. Even if it takes another year, I _will _complete this story one day._

_And so, as always, please review and tell me what you think :) _


	30. Chapter 30

_No. Nononono. Where is he? Where did he go? He was here… He was right here! Where did he go?! _

_No. It can't be. It just can't. He promised. He said he'd be fine! It can't be…_

…_I knew it. He lied. Not just him, they all did. All of them. They all lied to me. Liars. Liars. Liarsliarsliarsliarsli—_

"America-san?"

Dazed, America blinked and shook his head. He turned to Japan. "Huh? Um, sorry, what?"

Japan was frowning. "Are you all right? You haven't said anything since France-san stormed off..."

Stormed off…? Why—? Oh. Right. After America said he was going to the city, France had argued against him. It was too dangerous, he said. America would be killed. Both stood their ground stubbornly, and eventually France just couldn't take it anymore and left to some other, darker part of the underground caverns. Canada ran after him, quickly saying to the other two he would try to calm him down.

And after that… America wasn't sure. He had been daydreaming or something. Weird. It almost felt like he had come out of another memory, but that was impossible. He hadn't used the device, after all.

"Uh, yeah." America laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I guess I was just spacing out a little…"

"'Spacing out'?"

"Yeah... I guess I'm just a little worried, you know?"

At this, Japan's expression softened. "I see. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried myself. After all, even if it turns out he wasn't kidnapped, we still don't know where England-san is."

"Yeah?" America kicked at the ground with a sigh. "Man, I hope he's all right… I know we fight loads and everything, but it's not like I hate him or anything. I mean, we're friends. ...I think. And anyway, I wouldn't want _anyone _to be kidnapped and maybe even tortured by some deranged future me."

Japan nodded. "I understand. I think. But, America-san… Everything will be okay. I'm sure England-san's fine. We'll find him, and I'm also sure that once we do he won't be too happy to realise you had been thinking of him as some kind of damsel in distress."

America couldn't help but grin. "You're right. He'll probably kill me."

He laughed and even Japan chuckled slightly for a while, not considering that fact that they could accidently wake someone up and get caught. Eventually Japan seemed to realise this and attempted to shush the American, but it wasn't until another question sprang to mind that America truly fell silent.

"Hey…" he said. "Um, are you _sure _England will be okay? I mean… The Leader's supposed to be a completely insane psychopath, right? He kills people without even thinking about it, right? I mean, he's supposed to make Cold War Russia look like a little flower girl or something, right?"

"Though those things may be at least slightly true," Japan started, looking a little uncomfortable, "I… I don't think The Leader would hurt England-san, at least not without some provocation."

"…Yeah, he's definitely doomed. But why don't you think The Leader would hurt him? He's evil! And anyway, he killed the other England!" Saying this, an image of the future England bleeding and dying in his arms filled his mind. America shivered. He would never be able to forget that.

"It… It's hard to explain. He just wouldn't. If he really wanted to use England-san as bait, then he wouldn't just kill him like that."

"But the other England—"

"That was an accident, I'm sure." Japan said this with a strange sort of certainty. "The Leader never made a move to hurt him, nor did he ever try to hurt me or Canada-san. I don't see why he would start now."

America blinked. "He… never hurt England? You mean, like, _never? _What about when he wasn't fully crazy or whatever? Did he try to attack him then?_"_

"No… No, he didn't." it might have been the dim lighting, but Japan looked uncertain. "Is… Is something wrong?"

"Oh, uh, no." That was at least partly a lie. All he could think of was that memory with the knife, the strange one where England ran away from him in a panic. It had honestly seemed like the future America had attacked England, and Canada had even said, or, well, at least implied the American had done something like that when he started losing his mind, but was that wrong?

"America-san…?"

"It's nothing!" America replied quickly, too quickly. "Just… um… thinking again." He shook his head and tried to laugh again. "But, um, anyway, even if The Leader's not planning on killing England, we've still got to go after him. I mean, come on! We've got to do something! You're with me, right?"

Japan sighed. "America-san, I have no intent on leaving England with The Leader, but… We need to think rationally. France-san is right—going to the city would surely get us killed; if we go without a plan, that is."

"But—"

"And although gathering a large group may help, that would surely make our chances of getting caught larger. Going alone also has large disadvantage. If you are truly set on going to the city, then we need to plan this carefully."

* * *

><p><em>It was dark. England's eyes were open, but there was nothing to see. It was too dark. <em>

_He shifted, moved to a sitting position. The floor was cool and smooth to touch, like metal, and he could tell from the unbearable silence he was the only one here. _

_Now then, where was he?_

_Though he was tense, ready for something to attack at any given moment, he found himself smiling. Of course. He knew where he was. Well, okay, maybe not exactly, but he had a very good idea what was going on. And if he was correct, then he had nothing to worry about._

_This was all part of the plan, after all._

* * *

><p><em>-Chapter end<em>

_This took a while :( Sorry, school/college started about a week ago, and besides that I've also been feeling sick over the past few days, so things have just been happening D: And I couldn't even give you all an eventful chapter to make up for it…_

_But gosh, all your reviews for last chapter were so nice! I really wasn't expecting feedback like that 0-0_

_Well, please review and tell me what you think ^_^_


	31. Chapter 31

In one dimly lit corner of the underground village, hidden from anyone else's view, America turned to Japan.

"So," he said, crouching down and grabbing a rather sharp stone, "what do you know about the city?"

Japan knelt down next to him. He put his head to one side. "...Excuse me?"

"You're the one who said we needed to plan, and you know a lot more about all of this than me. Also, I can't ask France because you know how he's being with the whole 'stopping The Leader' plan, and Canada would just worry."

"I see." Japan frowned. "I don't know what I can tell you. It has been... a very long time since I was last there, so my memories of what it was like are vague at best. Even if I could remember everything, The Leader could have easily changed things."

"Oh..." America deflated slightly, but then sat up and narrowed his eyes in determination. "That doesn't matter! Seriously, I know almost nothing about this place. Anything would be helpful at this point. Really. I mean, at least it would give me an idea of what to expect."

As he said this, America drew a circle in the ground using the stone. He gave Japan a hopeful look who bit his lip in return. What could he say, exactly? What was he _allowed _to say?

"There is a very high chance it will be guarded," Japan eventually said. "The Leader is a dangerous mix of tactical and paranoid, and I don't doubt he would have positioned as many guards as possible. I'd prefer it if we could go this without actually hurting anyone, so stealth will be important."

"Right." America quickly scribbled a few stick men around the circle. "Are they armed?"

"Of course. Thankfully, any weapons they possess _should _be similar to weapons from your time. The Leader was doing his best to recreate things from before the war, though I don't think he would have been able to make exact duplicates. The city should also have electricity and some forms of machinery, even if it's not made available to _everyone…" _The last part was almost muttered as Japan lowered his head slightly.

America frowned to himself. He seemed to be thinking, tapping the stone with an uneven rhythm. Nothing was said for the next few seconds, but then America looked at Japan and said, "Okay, how about we steal their uniforms?"

"I—… Their uniforms?"

"Yeah! Basically, we find some guards who are on their breaks or something, knock them out and take their uniforms. Then we can sneak in easily!"

"I… I don't think it would be _that _easy… I'm sure The Leader of all people would have a way to tell apart one of his guards from an intruder…"

"It could be a trap, too," Canada said. "He'd probably be expecting you to pull something like that…"

America frowned, paused, blinked then spun around. "Whoa, whoa, wait, _Canada?! _How long have you been there?"

Canada gave them a sheepish smile, lowering down to the other two nations' current height. "Oh, not long. I was looking for you, and I saw you were both here, so…"

"Where's France-san?" Japan asked without looking up.

"He's still upset…" Canada sighed. "He won't leave his room. Unless this is the most full proof plan in all of existence, I don't think he'll agree to this at all."

America huffed slightly. He would never have thought he'd be having this problem with France of all people.

"Okay, fine," America mumbled. "Do you have ideas, Canada?

"No, sorry. I know as much about this whole thing as Japan, really." Canada gave them an embarrassed smile. Japan blinked, looking almost confused, but said nothing.

"Ugh…" America looked miserable. "We're not really getting anywhere, are we? What are we supposed to do?"

"Why don't we go up to the surface for a bit?" Canada offered. "We'll have to be quiet, but the fresh air might help us think a bit." He stood and held his hand out to America, whose mood had brightened considerably at the idea of going outside. He grabbed Canada's hand and practically jumped to his feet.

"That sounds great! Come on, Japan!" America almost dragged Canada forward, only glancing back once to make sure Japan was following. The Japanese nation had climbed to his own feet with a frown, but, unnoticed to the other two as they continued forward, Japan froze. He made sure they were well out of hearing rang before turning slowly.

"Yes?" he asked. "Who's there?" Though he wanted to remain optimistic, Japan couldn't help but be cautious.

Someone stepped forward and out of the shadows. They smiled. The brown hood covered their face, but Japan knew exactly who it was.

He visibly relaxed. "It's you..." Japan said, sounding more than a little relieved. "Thank goodness. We were beginning to grow worried. Did... did you succeed?

They opened their mouth to speak, but Japan stopped them. "No. Never mind. I'm sure I will have plenty of time to find out for myself. After all, if you're here then that must mean it is time for me to go 'there', correct?"

With slight hesitation, the hooded person nodded.

"I understand." Japan's smile was almost sad. "With the rest of our path undecided, I suppose all I can do is wish you luck. Please, both of you, until it is my turn to fill this role... watch over America-san for the two of us."

* * *

><p><em>-Chapter end.<em>

_Okay, so I wasn't really that happy with this chapter... Writer's block still has a rather tight grip on my head and finger when it comes to anything to do with the keyboard :/ I've got a beta reader for this story now, who I am grateful towards, but she said this chapter was absolutely fine and it should probably only be longer... I don't know, I just don't like how dialog heavy it is :( No matter what people say, I'm always convinced these things aren't that good ^^' I can daydream and come up with ideas, but actually writing those ideas down so that they paint a picture in someone else's mind is a talent that constantly alludes me... :/_

_Well, until next time. Please review and tell me what you think ^_^_


	32. Chapter 32

"Hey." America stopped, glanced back, and turned to Canada. "Where's Japan? Wasn't he right behind us?"

Canada blinked, and a frown quickly made its way to his face when he realised America was right. "He was… Where—?"

Their confusion didn't last long. Just as Canada was about to voice the question on both of their minds, someone ran out from the shadows and waved to them apologetically.

"Oh, thank goodness, I caught up to you." Japan sighed, sounding almost relieved. He slowed to a halt in front of them. There was something a little… different about him, something the younger nation couldn't place. His hair seemed slightly more dishevelled, his cloak holding a few more tears than before, but that wasn't the main difference—except, America couldn't decide _what _was different besides that. After a few more seconds of staring he figured that if he really couldn't find whatever this big change was then he was probably imagining it, so he stepped forward and smiled at Japan.

"There you are! We were wondering where you went," America said. "What happened? Why'd you fall back like that?"

"Ah, yes…" Japan looked a little sheepish. "I, er, tripped."

There was a pause.

"You tripped?" America blinked. That would explain his generally messy appearance, but…

"Yes, I tripped. On a rock." Japan tried to laugh, though it was half-hearted and not exactly convincing. "It gets so hard to see down here sometimes. I really should have been paying more attention."

"Oh." How else could America reply to that? That excuse didn't sound very likely; surely they would have heard something if Japan had really fallen, a sudden crash or even a cry of pain? Besides that, the smaller nation was acting strange. He had looked away from the other two, avoiding eye contact, and he appeared to be almost nervous. The more America thought about it, the more suspicious Japan's story seemed.

But what reason would he have to lie?

"Are you hurt?" America made sure his tone at least _sounded_ concerned. Interrogating his friend over a feeling probably wasn't the best idea.

After Japan shook his head and confirmed he was definitely okay, America glanced at Canada. The other nation was still frowning, though now he seemed more troubled. He had probably noticed the same problems with Japan's excuse as America.

"Well, maybe you should lie down for a bit, just to be safe," Canada said suddenly. His expression had shifted slightly—he was now the picture of worry.

…He would have been, at least, if it was for the very slight edge to his voice. America stared at him. What was up with Canada? For a split second there he had almost sounded angry.

"Oh no," Japan shook his head and smiled, "that is not necessary. I promise you, Canada-san, I am perfectly fine."

America looked from Japan, to Canada, to Japan, and then back to Canada. He frowned. Something very weird was going on between them, that much was obvious. But what? He had been with them practically the entire time, and he was pretty sure he couldn't remember them having any arguments. This was the first time they had acted like this around each other.

Well, there was that one time. After England's death, the two of them had seemed more willing to snap at each other than anyone else. America had just put it down to stress and depression; he would have been lying if he said he hadn't been upset too, but… maybe this was something bigger. Japan and Canada had got along pretty well in his own time—could that have changed here? It had been a very long while since then, after all. It wasn't insane to think something could have happened between them.

He sighed. This really wasn't good. England had vanished, France was angry with him and now Japan and Canada were apparently at each other's throats. Great.

"Hey, um," America started awkwardly, "we should, er, go."

The other two turned to him, both looking a little surprised. Canada nodded and started leading the way again, and it didn't take long for Japan to start following, albeit reluctantly.

With America walking behind Canada, he started thinking. He _could _ask them outright about their cold behaviour towards each other, but would they give him a straight answer? They would probably deny it, say there was nothing wrong, that America was just imagining things. They wouldn't want him to know. Maybe because it was a private argument they hadn't told anyone about, or they simply thought he already had enough to worry about. They would lie and hide things lie and hide things. That was all anyone did in this stupid future and he was absolutely sick of it. Everyone was just lying lying lying lyinglyinglyinglyinglyinglying—

And then America was falling.

It had been so sudden. He had been walking forward, deep in his oddly numb thoughts with Canada and Japan in clear sight, but everything suddenly flickered. He stopped and the world vanished.

Everything was gone, replaced with a familiar blue light. He felt something pull him barely a second later, and America was yanked down into the blue. He screamed and screamed even though no one could hear him—what was going on? It almost felt like he was being dragged into another memory, except this was different, forced, bringing America further and further down into the blinding light…

…

_The experience ended without much event, and he opened his eyes to a much dimmer glow. The scenery had changed drastically; from what America could tell, he was now in a large room, the only source of light being a few randomly placed candles. This made it hard to get any details about his knew location, though the walls and floor seemed to be made of… metal? _

_Oh, and The Leader was there._

_America's first reaction to seeing his insane future self just across the room, face half silhouetted in the flickering light, was a sort of panicked shock, but he soon caught and tensed himself, ready for a probable attack. _

…_Except The Leader did nothing. He just stood there, completely still. There was something in his hand which he seemed to be staring at intently, but America frustratingly couldn't see what it was. _

_Frowning, an idea came to America and he wondered if it was even possible. Was he in another memory? That would explain why The Leader hadn't reacted to him at all, but how? He hadn't touched the device at all! Though America admitted he had no idea how it worked, he thought he understood the 'press the button and you'll see one of The Leader's memories' function at least. Were there exceptions to the button pressing rule now?_

"_Okay, I seriously don't get this anymore, and I didn't really understand it before," America said to himself. "Did I break the device or something? Is that why I'm here?" He sighed. "Well, I guess I might as well watch…"_

_Then The Leader turned to him, looking almost irritated._

"_Maybe if you stopped talking," he said, coldly, "we would be able to finish our very insignificant time together much more quickly."_

_America yelped in surprise and jumped back without really thinking. He tried to go into a sort of fighting stance when he regained his composure, but there was no point. The Leader had shifted back into the same position as before. It was almost as if nothing had happened. Had America just imagined that?_

_Currently answerless questions had to wait. A low creak and groan filled the quiet. America spun around to see a thin rectangle of light growing wider and wider, and the large door at the end of the room opened fully to reveal a shadow. The figure wearing a black hood stepped forwards slowly, carefully, the sound of their feet against the floor echoing quite loudly as they entered the gloom._

_The Leader, after pocketing whatever had been in his hand, turned to see this other person. A mild sort of surprise briefly flashed across his face, though he hid this without much effort._

"_Oh?" he said. "Why are you here? The last time I checked, you weren't exactly fond of visiting."_

_The stranger stopped. They pulled down their hood in one sudden movement, their face very clear even in the faint light of the candles._

_England._

_America stared. Even when the conversation truly started, he kept his eyes on England. What was he doing? Why was he with The Leader?_

_England spared one glance around the room and then looked back to The Leader. _

"_So, you changed it again," he said simply._

"_Of course. Making everything exactly the same—where's the fun in that?" The Leader smiled. "But I don't think that's the main issue. How did you get here? My guards were ordered not to let any intruders in; I personally think that's an easy instruction, but of course those _idiots_ managed to fail such a simple task. I suppose I'll need to have a little… 'talk' with them later."_

"_It has nothing to do with your guards. You think I would be so obvious as to just walk inside? I found a different way."_

"_Really? And would it be stupid of me to ask what this 'different way' is?"_

"_Very."_

_Something very slight passed over The Leader's face, a sort of irritation, but then he was smiling again, more widely than before. "Fine, then. Why are you here?"_

_Seconds passed in silence. England kept his eyes fixed on The Leader, expression blank and emotionless._

"_Well, I suppose there really is only one reason why you would take the trouble to come here." The Leader gave an exaggerated sigh. "You want to talk about our 'game'?"_

_Still, England said nothing. The other man turned to the side and started slowly walking to the right, then the left, then the right again, and the blond's eyes followed him the entire time. "I have to say, I'm honestly bored of this. It's just the same thing over and over again. I've lost track of how many times we've done this." He smirked. "You understand, right? It's hopeless. Just give up."_

_His voice was quiet but firm. "This time… It's different—_

"_Is it?" The Leader stopped and glared, his tone suddenly a lot harsher. "Is it _really _different? Because I swear you said something similar a few rounds ago. It doesn't matter if he's not acting like the last one, it always ends the same: he dies, I win, we move on. Every. Single. Time. And you're the _only _one who doesn't get that." _

_But then The Leader smiled again. He said, all hints of the earlier anger gone, "But, I suppose that doesn't matter. I'm willing to continue this until you _finally _give up. I always win, after all, and this time will be no different."_

"_No." England looked at him. "You won't. Not this time. This is ending _now."

_Everything moved almost too quickly to keep track of. England lunged forwards suddenly, and The Leader, alarmed, did not think to make a move to step back until it was too late. The very next second, a knife was pressed to his throat. He froze. England had positioned himself right in front of him, his hands tightly gripped around the handle. It would barely take a moment for him to slice his neck._

_The knife was too familiar to just be a coincidence, and it was then America remembered where he had seen it. It was the knife England had with him, before America took and broke it._

_The two men were both frozen in place. England glared right into The Leader's wide eyes._

_America watched this, and he silently hoped England would indeed slash with that knife and end it all. It would all be over. The Leader would die. However, America also knew how unlikely this scenario was. This was just a memory, and The Leader was definitely still alive. No matter what happened, The Leader would emerge from this situation living and breathing._

_More seconds passed agonisingly slowly. The Leader lifted his hand up and wrapped it around the knife's handle. Slowly, he pushed it down, away from his throat. England did not resist this action._

"_You can't do it, can you?"_

_England didn't react. He was staring down at the knife now, face blank._

"_You—"_

"_Why?"  
><em>

_The word was sudden, and The Leader actually looked confused. "'Why'?"_

"_Why…? Why did you bring me back?" England's voice was cold. He didn't look up. "Why? What was the point? Had I known _this _was the hell I would have to live through, I would have begged to die again. _Anything _would have been better than this. Anything."_

_Whatever The Leader's response to this would have been was lost; a gasp of pain was ripped from his lips instead. England had stepped forward suddenly and slashed the knife across his arm. He reached an arm forward and snatched something away before The Leader could react._

"_What…?" The Leader glared, a hand pressed to the deep cut. The area around the wound was being rapidly dyed a bright red. "What do you think you're doing, England?"_

"_I already told you," England said, the object he had taken glinting with an electric blue. "You won't win this time, America. I won't let you."_

_He turned and started walking towards the door, and The Leader called, somehow containing his anger behind gritted teeth, "You can't use it. What point is there in taking it? It won't work for you."_

_England paused. He glanced back at The Leader. "I know that. But you seem to have forgotten that you alone are not the only one it works for…"_

_America wanted to hear more, to continue watching, but there was a tug at the back of his mind that he could resist no matter how hard he tried. He was being pulled back._

_The last thing he saw of the scene in front of him was the image of England turning away once again and The Leader's eyes lighting up with what could only be described as realisation—and anger._

* * *

><p><em>-Chapter end.<em>

_Hey, stuff happened in this one :D And I predict, though it may be shorter, there will be some plot moving next time! Yay, we're getting somewhere! XD_

_I had a bit of inspiration and motivation for this story a few days ago, but school has been keeping me so busy I only managed to finish the chapter last night :( I was told the start seemed a bit awkward; that was just me trying to get back into the flow of this story XD Yeah, sorry ^^' Hopefully it won't take me forever to update again..._

_Well, please review and tell me what you think ^_^_


	33. Chapter 33

Many years from the current time, lying down in his bed, Japan gave a heavy sigh. He was worried, mainly about America. It has been a few days now since he disappeared, and Japan honestly had no idea how he could find him. And then there was the matter of England... Japan hadn't thought he would go, too, but the fact of the matter was that he had and now Japan was left alone in his silent home.

He turned over, pulled the sheets around himself tighter. Why did it have to be so cold...?

_Maybe there's really nothing I can do. _Japan's thoughts, though had previously attempted staying optimistic, took an oddly bitter tone. I_'m practically useless here... How infuriating._

Just as these thoughts began circling his mind, there was a flash of blue, a thud, and after having to shield his eyes from the glare Japan sat up, blinking. Someone was sprawled out on the floor.

"Wha—?" Japan stumbled from his bed and went to the stranger's side. They were dressed in a dark brown cloak, the hood covering their face, but it fell away slightly when they looked up and Japan found he could only stare.

England stared back, looking more than a little disorientated.

"E... England-san?" Japan shook his head, blinked, but England was still there.

"Dammit." England was climbing to his feet now. "You could have at least told me to prepare myself... Ugh, my head..."

"I—" Without even fighting against it, Japan fell to his knees, face pale. "How is this possible? I-I don't understand."

"What? What's wrong?" England looked at him, frowning. He offered a hand to help the other up, but Japan refused to move. "You were the one who told me to— Oh." He paused, then gave a sighed. "Right. I see. You're a different one, aren't you?"

Japan seemed unable to answer.

"I can't believe this." England shook his head, muttering to himself. "Yes, it was my first attempt, but it didn't look too difficult. How did I get sent back so far?"

Before anything else could be said, there was another flash. Footsteps could be heard before the light even cleared, and voices, but these were too quiet to truly understand, and by the time Japan was finally able to see again England was gone.

He looked around the room wildly; he was alone, just like before.

Perhaps he had imagined that little event. That would be the best explanation if he wished to preserve his sanity. The only problem was that there was something on the floor, something that hadn't been there before. England could have dropped it, but wouldn't have been possible if he had just been a part of some dream.

He knelt down to get a better look at the strange object. Whatever it was, it was small and blue...

* * *

><p>The cold and dark; that was all there was for England in this strange place. With his head leant back against the metallic wall, he gave a heavy sigh. It had now been quite a few hours since he woke up in the chilled room, and there didn't seem to be much sign of him leaving any time soon. There was no way out of the small room—England knew this first hand after quite a long while of trying to find something that could be a route of escape. Nothing was found, of course.<p>

The door had opened at some point, the dull thud and blinding rectangle of light being only indication that there even was an exit. At that moment two silhouettes stared at him briefly, and with them they brought the sound of echoed moans and cries and groans that were only silenced when the door slammed shut again. England found himself glad for the surrounding quiet.

He wondered, with a morbid chuckle, if they had forgotten about him. That was the best explanation he could think of concerning the prolonged wait, unless they thought leaving him in darkness for hours on end would render him so pitifully scared and desperate that he would agree to anything they said. In a way, he almost hoped it was the former.

Though he had been a little concerned as to how well this so-called 'plan' would carry out, he had entered the start of its execution with confidence. Now, however, that confidence was turning to weariness and slight boredom, and England couldn't help but wonder if Japan's idea would even work at such a critical stage.

It had been when they were discussing the 'game', something England was still rather confused about. Japan had turned to him and spoke in a quiet voice.

_"You have never appeared like this in the game," he said, "and that could make you interesting to The Leader. It is very likely that you will be taken."_

England had reacted with surprise, of course, but Japan continued before he could voice any growing worries.

_"This could be a good situation for us. While The Leader will still think he is one step ahead, you will have the opportunity to gather needed information."_

_"Are you trying to say," England said, frowning slightly "that you want me to find information?"_

_Saying the situation hadn't been the most desirable for him would have been an understatement. England, of course, didn't want to be kidnapped by someone he had heard to be insane, especially in a world he was still so unfamiliar with. But Japan persisted._

_"I would be against this if there was any other way," he explained, "but you must understand that this is probably the best option we have at the moment. Don't worry. You won't get hurt, and once we have found out what we need I will bring you back to the village. I will be right behind you the entire time."_

_"I suppose that means you have some way of getting behind the city walls yourself." England gave him a mostly irritated scowl. "If that's true, then why can't you do this? Why do I have to be involved like this at all?"_

_"Ame— The Leader hardly ever lets his guards down. You could consider him overly paranoid, especially lately, with so many unexpected things happening in the game. Many had already been punished or killed after false accusations of spying. But if he removes one of the unexpected elements, he would think he was ahead of all of us again, and even if it's only for a short amount of time he would feel secure. He would never think that we knew about this beforehand. As far as he knows, the only person who could possibly predict this and warn you is dead."_

_"What about you?" England asked, arms crossed. "You were close to him once, right? And you even know about this 'game' of his. Surely he would have thought you of all people could have planned something like this." _

_"Ah... No." Japan's smile was sad. "The Leader has no idea that I exist here. He would expect this game to have a Japan, of course, even if it was only a long time ago, but I am not that Japan."_

Sure enough, while England had been sleeping rather peacefully the other night, rough hands grabbed him and before he even had a chance to yell there was a light, a familiar blue glow, then darkness. He woke up some time later, lying in what he presumed to be a cell, and decided that at that point the only thing he could do was wait.

Though there was only so much 'waiting' he could handle. There was no way out of the small room—England knew this first hand after quite a long while of trying to find some kind of exit. He just hoped Japan had been telling the truth when he said he would be right behind him; England was starting to wonder whether this 'Leader' was perfectly willing to let him rot in this prison for however many hundreds of years he would last for.

Then there was a screech, the cry of metal against metal, a slam as the door opened fully. Two shadows were at the opening. They had finally come for him.

England smiled. Maybe the plan wasn't _too _hopeless.

And, just as this was happening, miles away and underground, hands shook awake a still partly unconscious America.

* * *

><p><em>—Chapter end.<em>

_*Gasp* What? Could this be... plot development? :O Gosh, that's become so rare in this fic..._

_All sarcasm aside, I'm so sorry this took me forever again DX I'm hoping to update this at least a little more regularly, because it honestly feels like my inability to go forward with the plot and one day bring it to a conclusion is mocking me :/ _

_Well, please review and tell we what you think ^_^_


	34. Chapter 34

The figures at the door were dressed in black and with a strong build, masks of reflective glass covering the top half of their faces. Nothing was said, there was no fan-fair; the two men simply went in and securely pulled England out by the arms. He didn't fight back. He had already followed the plan this far, so what would be the point?

After finally growing used to the glaring light as he was led away, however, he did begin to wonder whether staying in that room would have been for the best. Doors lined the narrow hall, no doubt almost all of them leading to nothing but darkness and prisoners, and echoing off the windowless walls were the cries of many others who had found themselves locked in whatever strange and cold place this was. England could only grit his teeth and carry on forward.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked after a few minutes of walking down the metal corridors, his tone cautious. Playing dumb seemed like the best option, and he needed something to act as a distraction from the pleading voices.

The men didn't even glance at him, but their clanging footsteps against the metallic floor quickened slightly. They wanted to get this over with as fast as possible, it seemed.

Creating a mental map of this prison was almost impossible. Each and every row of doors was exactly alike, besides a few not very distinct differences that were only spotted by chance. Even so, England stubbornly noted the turns they made and anything that possibly stood out, just in case, and eventually something changed. There were no doors in the next hall they turned to; a chill seemed to rise in the air as they went. The corridor slowly grew wider, and at the very end was another door, bigger than the other slabs of metal that had been against the walls.

One of the men knocked on the door three times, paused briefly, and began yanking it open with obvious effort. Without a word or even a passing glance, England was forced inside the dimly lit room, the door slamming shut behind him.

Under normal circumstances, England would have yelled, spun around and demand that they open the door. Of course, these were anything but normal circumstances, a fact made very clear just from the sight of the man in the flickering candlelight.

In all honestly, England hadn't really known what to expect. America had given him an admittedly rushed description, but even with that and anything else he had heard, the cold eyes that immediately analysed him, and that smile, caught him off-guard. Perhaps he had simply been hopeful before that moment. The idea that the rash and excitable America could turn into such an insane monster had almost been enough to make England laugh. If it wasn't for everything that had happened, he would have thought this was all some prank.

And it was growing more and more clear just how wrong that 'hope' was.

The Leader stepped forward; England was snapped out of his thoughts, but he caught himself in time to keep his expression neutral. Even if he could feel a sense of unease ebbing away at his resolve, he refused to show it.

"So," The Leader said, even the amused tone to his voice sounding somehow cold, mocking, "England, are you enjoying your stay?"

"Not particularly." England looked him straight in the eye, and though he wasn't sure if it was because of nerves or his own stubborn personality he said, "I hope you don't mind if I call you America. 'Leader' sounds too pretentious."

If The Leader was surprised by this, it wasn't obvious. He laughed. To him, this was all just a game. "Go ahead. I can't say I really care." He narrowed his eyes very slightly, to the point where England couldn't help but tense up, a wide smile never leaving The Leader's face.

He turned away, footsteps echoing as he slowly went to the other side of the room, paused, then back again.

"It's been a long time," The Leader said, "since I last saw a 'you' who was like this. The other England had grown so tired, it was honestly getting boring."

England looked at him. "It must have been a relief, then, when you finally had the chance to pull that trigger."

Visibly, The Leader's gaze hardened, the smile slipping. England wouldn't have been surprised if he pulled out the gun at his side there and then.

Seconds passed in complete silence before The Leader spoke again.

"Think whatever you want," he said, the smile returning. "But keep in mind that sometimes it's a little hard to control my temper. You're lucky you caught me in a good mood."

He went past England, who watched him cautiously, to the door behind, pushing it open with ease.

"You," he was talking to one of the guards, England presumed, "hurry up and get ready. It's time to give our 'guest' a little tour."

* * *

><p><em>—Chapter end<em>

_I know this is short, and I'm sorry, but I just wanted to update this for today of all days :( It has now been exactly two years since I first uploaded this, which also means it's been exactly two years since I started writing fanfics! Gosh, time really does fly XD Hopefully I'll actually be able to finish The Desolate Future this year, though with school/college being the way it is, I'm getting less time and less motivation to do these sorts of things :/ But I will keep going! No matter how far away it is, there is an end!_

_And so for now, please review and tell me what you think ^_^_


	35. Chapter 35

The metal hallways had already felt uninviting, something England was sure wouldn't have changed even if he hadn't been accompanied by two guards with guns at his back. The Leader's presence, however, added a cold stillness to their path. The moans from behind the heavy doors had all fallen silent at the sound of his footsteps.

The Leader walked forward with a casual sort of confidence; England couldn't help but wonder how he knew where he was going in such a maze of a building. It felt like the hallways stretched forever as an incomprehensible web, but of course that was impossible.

With the passing scenery consisting of the same grey walls, it was when something changed that England sharply turned his head. A window was to his right, taking up almost the entire wall. Outside it seemed the sun had long since set, and the only visible light source was various blue lights scattered throughout the darkness. They illuminated the shapes of twisted buildings, some tall as sky scrapers, others simple houses. Even from the little amount England could see the buildings obviously stretched for miles.

_This must be the city,_ England thought. If it wasn't for his curent situation he probably would have wanted a closer look. The lights looked almost pretty in the dark, though from what he could see of the structures he could only imagine how foreboding the city looked in the daylight.

He must have slowed without realising, as one of the guards jabbed him in the back with their gun, followed by a curt "Keep moving." England scowled but picked up his pace slightly regardless.

So quick he could have easily imagined it, England thought he saw The Leader glance back at him with a smirk before turning his eyes back on their path. It was fleeting, but the smug message was clear. _'Impressed?' _The Leader was showing off. What exactly he expected him to be amazed by England wasn't too sure. If the city was meant to be something to behold then the darkness made that a little difficult. Did he mean to show off the size of the city as a display of his power? Either way the move seemed immature, though in the end this _was _America.

They continued on in silence, England left only able to wonder where they were going. Guards would pass by them at times, on some sort of patrol, their concealig helmets meaning only the way they tensed as they walked past The Leader was an indication of their true emotions.

If the area had felt still before, then when one of the guards tripped, accidentally knocking into The Leader's shoulder, time might as well have frozen.

The guard went limp as they fell back to their feet, apologising feebly. They obviously felt there was no chance of surrviving this encounter. The same thought obviously crossing their minds, the other guards stiffly stepped away from their companion.

The Leader's eyes were cold, yet he continued to smile.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" he asked in a tone that would have been pleasant in any other conversation.

England stared from The Leader to the guard. While he had been with The Leader for too short a time to accurately predict his actions, if the stories about him were true then it was obvious how this situation would end.

The Leader pulled the gun from his side, a weapon England had almost forgotten The Leader had, and pointed it at the guard. He continued to smile. The guard seemed to accept there was no point in running, simply lowering their head instead.

He was going to kill them, England realised, eyes widened. The Leader—_America_—was going to personally shoot someone in the head, and for the simple reason that they had walked into him.

There was no time to react. Before anyone could move, The Leader pulled the trigger.

England didn't know what he expected, but it was probably the same as everyone else witnessing the incident. A splatter of blood, a slumped body. Instead, however, the bullet embedded itself into the wall beside the guard's head. No one moved.

The Leader pulled his gun back, the smile gone. "Oh. I missed," he said in bored tone that could easily be used for describing the weather. "Whatever. Leave."

The guard seemed unable to believe their luck. It took a few seconds at most for them to realise what had happened and scramble past The Leader.

Relief hung in the air alongside confusion. Obviously everyone thought The Leader was going to kill that person. It would have been easy from such a distance. So, why let them go?

The Leader smirked suddenly, and he turned, pointing the gun and pulling the trigger once more. This time there was a yell of pain as a bullet met the guard's shoulder.

"Think of that as a warning," The Leader called to the guard, who clutched at their shoulder in obvious pain. And The Leader turned away, as if his mood was brightened, starting back down the path and leaving England with no choice to follow as the guards behind him pushed him forward with a lot more desperation than before. No longer the target of The Leader's rage, other guards ran to their injured companion and hurried them somewhere out of sight, presumably somewhere to be treated.

* * *

><p>—<em>Chapter end.<em>

_Why does it have to take me so long to upate things nowadays? Oh, yeah, it's because of school and exams and studying. Well, at least I managed to get something written..._

_A short chapter, but I'm hoping for more stuff to happen next time. As always, please review and tell me what you think ^_^_


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